


Whispers from the past

by rarepairqueen



Series: The Trans-Atlantic haunting [4]
Category: Ghost Adventures RPF
Genre: Disturbing Themes, F/M, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-14
Updated: 2014-07-10
Packaged: 2018-01-12 09:58:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 48,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1184880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarepairqueen/pseuds/rarepairqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year on from seeing the guys and Luna's life had turned upside down once more. Ghost hunting had become a rarity with the Atlantic ocean between her and the GAC. Zak, Nick, Aaron and Billy find a way to reconnect with the fifth member of their crew however what would it be without a few whispers from the past being heard?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Move Along

**Author's Note:**

> So it’s finally time for the last part of the series to begin,  
> I’m going to be adding in what music influenced chapters because it is very rare that I will write without listening to music and I know some people find it interesting knowing these kinds of things!  
> It'll basically be formatted like this:  
> *All American Rejects - Move Along*
> 
> Hope you enjoy! :)
> 
>  
> 
> *Disclaimer - whilst I don't say that I "regret" some author decisions I made, I do acknowledge that some details in parts of this series can unsettle or offend readers so for that I apologise and hope that you continue to enjoy this series*

 

**Move Along**

“ _When all you got to keep is strong_  
 _move along, move along_  
 _like I know you do_  
 _Even when your hope is gone_  
 _move along, move along_  
 _just to make it through_.”

I had taken to spending more and more time at Kate’s house as the divorce proceedings began, Ringo and I were practically living there when the guys arrived from the US.

My boss was very understanding when I told her about my parents divorcing, she said I could have some paid leave as I’d been a loyal employee over the holiday season and hardly asked for time off anyway which I was extremely thankful for as it meant I could spend time with the guys.

Once again I was waiting in the airport for them, I was beginning to lose count of how many hours I’ve spent in airports on both sides of the Atlantic. After a while I caught sight of them and rushed over to them, throwing myself into Zak’s arms as my emotions hit me like a brick wall. He held me close to him, pressing his face in the crook of my neck as we stood there in the middle of a crowded airport just embracing each other’s company after so long of being apart.

“God I’ve missed you…” he murmured.

“I missed you too…so freaking much…” I choked out through sobs. “I…I missed you so much…”

We stood there for a while in relative silence, the feel of his arms around me never felt so good. Nick coughed loudly next to us, bringing us out of our little moment.

“So…do we get hugs too?” he asked with a small grin.

I wiped away the tears that were staining my cheeks and nodded, hugging him and Aaron tightly and welcoming the love that each hug was filled with, love that I had been deprived off for what seemed like years.

After heading to the hotel they were staying in we all ate together, no mention of filming anything at all other than the occasional Aaron’s Vlog confirmed that they were indeed here for a vacation. I found out that Billy wasn’t able to join us because of family commitments but he sent his love anyway. Whilst Nick and Aaron were like brothers to me; the sole purpose of this visit was for mine and Zak’s relationship benefit, that and my sanity which Jay was convinced I lost back in Leap Castle.

Finally in the evening Zak and I were alone, sure we were barely half an hour away from Kate’s house and I could easily be dropped back there for the night, but having not seen each other in nearly a year…we didn’t want to spend any time apart.

Within a few minutes of the door closing and the chain being put in place, we were both under the covers only in our underwear. Everything was perfect; being able to press my body against his, to feel his lips on mine, hear his breath and he sighed and hugged me tightly. I could happily lie there for eternity listening to his heartbeat.

**~***~**

I had forgotten how peaceful it was to wake up in the arms of someone who loves me, when I rolled over I felt his hold on me tighten slightly. It was peaceful enough for me to be able to fall straight back to sleep, only to wake up an hour or two later.

“Sleep well sweetheart?” Zak asked sleepily.

“Of course…I was with you…” I murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “As long as I’m with you my life is perfect.”

He smiled and hugged me tightly. I nuzzled his neck and breathed in the familiar scent that I had missed so much. There was no reason to leave this perfect place, none at all. He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed me gently, lightly nipping at my lip.

Minutes passed, the silence drew on. Eventually we decided that we ought to get up and find the others before lunch took place without us.

**~***~**

“I swear on Jay’s grave that if you bring up that vlog again Aaron Goodwin I will abandon you during the next lockdown.” I remarked, waving a butter knife at him. “And if you even think about putting it up on youtube I will not hesitate to hack the account.”

“Awh come on Luna, you loved it really.” Aaron sighed, casting a glance at Nick who was smirking and then to the amused looking Zak.

“I’d like to see her hack into your account though.” Nick added.

I stuck my tongue out at Nick, he returned the gesture. Lunch wasn’t a quiet affair in the slightest; the two of them had remarked on how late it was (though half one wasn’t that late in my opinion) before moving quickly onto other things. I had stupidly asked about Aaron’s Vlogs and that’s how I ended up making childish faces at Nick for ten minutes until Aaron out-faced us with his crossed eyes and mouth hanging open.

“Zak what’s your opinion on all this? Should I upload the vlog of you two asleep on each other from the last season? Or should it just remain in the ever-growing folder of unreleased vlogs?” Aaron asked once we had all recovered from our childish antics.

Zak shrugged. “I dunno, we haven’t properly announced anything and I know the rumour mill will kick up…again…” he sighed. “I mean it’s easy to send a tweet and get it all over and done with but at the same time…”

I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “We’ve been through this Zak, it’s all up to you. I don’t mind.”

Nick and Aaron looked at each other with that familiar smile which usually meant they knew exactly what was gonna happen.

“Come here…” Zak murmured to me, gesturing for me to lean against him wrapping an arm around me as I relaxed against his chest, he picked up his phone from the table we had been sat around and selected the twitter app.

I watched as he flicked through the timeline, he wasn’t reading any of the tweets that came up, just scanning for who knows what. After a few moments of silence between all of us he started typing out a new tweet;

_‘So happy that I’m finally getting to see my wonderful girlfriend after a year of being apart!’_

His thumb hovered over the post button for a few seconds before opting to add a picture, the smartphone’s camera took over and he passed the phone to Nick with a curt nod. I then felt his hand on my cheek as he tilted my head up to press our foreheads together. I giggled slightly as Nick snapped the picture at how cliché it was but in my heart I knew that I loved it really.

Zak hit the post button before I could tear myself away from him. That was it. The world now knew about us, no more hiding in public, no more carefully wording our interviews, we could finally be open about it.

“You know, I’ve been thinking, you guys gotta be coming up to your second year anniversary right?” Nick asked.

“Next month, yeah.” I murmured with a smile.

“Got any plans?”

I looked to Zak who smiled and winked at me but said nothing. I shrugged at Nick. “As long as it’s not spending the night on a lockdown, I don’t mind.”

“Well we’re not planning any lockdowns.” Zak said.

“Oh yeah I’ve heard that before.” I remarked. “Last year in Vegas? I seem to remember the producers phoning and demanding new footage asap.”

“Okay, well what if I told you that Nick and I are now part of the producing panel? Meaning that we have more of a say on where we take the next season.”

I smiled. “Well that certainly changes things.”

He chuckled, squeezing me slightly as his phone lit up with notifications from the little blue bird of the internet. I was slightly curious at what was being said but I refrained from finding out; the moment didn’t need to be rushed, it was all about us.

We finished lunch together and made our way into the city centre, the sun shone on the harbour water and dazzled us as we walked through the bustling crowds. It was oddly warm in England. Aaron was doing his usual narration to his camera, Nick with his hands shoved in the pockets of his shorts, Zak and I holding hands without a care in the world.

As we started walking towards the multi-storey carpark Zak stopped us all and got us to wait for him as he disappeared around a corner towards some small shops. I looked to the others who shrugged and continued recording the current Aaron’s Vlog they were working on.

After a few minutes Zak reappeared with something hidden behind his back, I was about to ask what he had been doing when he got down on one knee and took my hand gently, bringing it to his lips without a word and kissing my fingers. My heart was pounding as the silence dragged on and he just looked at me from the pavement.

“Uh…Zak?” I asked hesitantly. “Is there any particular reason as to why you’re on one knee?”

He smiled and bought out what he was hiding from me behind his back; a pink rose. “Just gauging your reaction.” He replied, placing the flower in my hand with another kiss to my fingers.

I heard Aaron and Nick go ‘aw’ from behind us as I felt myself blush. Zak stood up and pulled me close to him, careful not to crush the rose between us. My heart was still beating a mile a minute as I leaned into his hold, Jay’s simple remark about our future together ringing through my mind.

“You okay?” Zak asked when I didn’t respond.

“Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting it.” I replied. “You startled me slightly.”

He laughed and hugged me tighter.

“Did you think it was something else then Luna?” Nick asked, that shit-eating grin of his was back.

“No…” I lied, I could faintly hear Jay cracking up as I pulled away from Zak’s hold an tried to hide my flustered face.

 “Lies.” He teased, nudging my side as we started walking again. Honestly he was such a kid sometimes.

“So what?” I asked, nudging him back. “What’s it to you?”

He puts his hands up as a sign of surrender. “Just wondering…that’s all.” All humour had gone from his voice. “Sorry if I touched a raw nerve.”

“It’s okay, I’m just tired.” I replied with a shrug.

Nick didn’t say anything else, he simply gave my shoulder a reassuring pat as we entered the stairwell to the carpark. Whilst I was indeed exhausted I was excited to be back with my adoptive family, even if it was only for a short time I could finally relax and hopefully forget about all my worries.


	2. Roadtrips and Karaoke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - A few days earlier than normal purely because I'm away for the entire weekend. As always, thanks for reading! :)
> 
> *Def Leppard – When Love and Hate Collide*

**Roadtrips and Karaoke**

“ _You thought he was going to propose?_ ” Jay asked me as I walked Ringo, having returned from a night in a hotel with Zak and the guys to give Kate all the gossip and actually pack a bag so I could join the guys for longer than one night.

“I didn’t know what he was going to do, I was just startled.” I replied, tightening my grip on Ringo’s leash.

“ _You want him to propose?_ ”

Ringo tugged on the leash, whimpering slightly that we weren’t walking fast enough. “I don’t know…I love him so much and it would be the best thing ever…to be married to him…”

“ _I’m sensing a but here…_ ”

I sighed, pulling Ringo back from a bulldog which seemed less than friendly. “I’m just a little hesitant I guess…about being apart during the engagement and wedding planning…a lot of thought would have to go into every choice we’d make, and of course there’s the whole moving to America thing…how my parents would react…there’s lots of stuff to be sorted out. That’s without even thinking about how it would affect us spiritually.”

I let Ringo off his leash so he could bound across the field, throwing a tennis ball for him to fetch. The guys were doing a bit of sightseeing so I opted to see to Ringo before meeting them again. There was talk of a road trip which was part of the reason I had to pack a bag for at least a two weeks holiday, I was excited to get out of the city and back on the road with them again.

“ _Well I’m sure you two could make it work, he loves you, and you love him._ ” Jay remarked, briefly flickering into view beside me; his hair messed up as always as he grinned at Ringo trotting back to us with the ball secured in his jaw. “ _And you’re gonna get married, have kids and live happily ever after!_ ” he finished with a giggle, I did wonder about his sanity sometimes.

“Why do you sound like a nine year old girl describing a Disney film?” I sighed, throwing the ball for Ringo again.

“ _I can be the sassy friend if you want?_ ”

“Please don’t.” I smiled, imagining him snapping his fingers in a z-formation. “I might die here from laughter.”

**~***~**

The amount of Aaron’s vlogs that were recorded and never actually uploaded always astonished me, literally every other minute he was filming one thing or another.

“Which one is this then? 24?” I asked the camera lens as he turned to me in the backseat of the rental van.

“It’s not that bad!” He protested. “Only seven.”

I rolled my eyes as the radio was turned on by Nick, filling the van with pop music whilst Aaron produced a carrier bag of snacks much to mine and Ringo’s delight. Sugary substances and dog treats spilled onto the seat between us, I pounced on one of the chocolate bars, suddenly aware of my hunger. Ringo barked at being left out as he pawed one of the packets of dog treats. Aaron tore open the packet and silenced him with a handful of chocolate made for dogs.

“What are you up to back there?” Zak asked as he turned around in the passenger seat, I had a mouthful of chocolate so could only point accusingly at Aaron. Zak just burst out laughing at the two of us and stole one of the many chocolate bars spread between us.

Before I could swallow the mouthful I had, Aaron’s camera was back in my face. “So Luna how’s life?” he asked, knowing full well that I wouldn’t be able to answer properly. My solution was to flip him the bird to which he simply chuckled.

We were interrupted by Zak and Nick deciding to sing along to the radio.

_Looking back on when we first met_  
I cannot escape and I cannot forget  
Baby you’re the one  
You still turn me on  
You can make me whole again

I fought the urge to laugh at the two of them, sing-alongs made these roadtrips all the more entertaining. Many songs later they were at it again,

_If I could turn back time_  
If I could find a way   
I'd take back those words that hurt you   
And you'd stay   
If I could reach the stars   
I'd give them all to you   
Then you'd love me, love me   
Like you used to do

This time Aaron joined in, I was ashamed to admit that I didn’t know the lyrics so I just coaxed Ringo to settle down across the seat. As the radio host declared that a traffic report was due they settled down again, Aaron sighing as he finally put the camera away for what would only be a brief rest bite.

Zak took out his phone and smiled at the screen, I leaned forward to find out what he was so happy about. He showed me the screen of replies and mentions surrounding his tweet yesterday, there were a lot of them, all telling us how happy they were for us. Quite a few proclaiming they were dead jealous but that I was a very lucky girl.

“Wow…” I breathed.

“Yeah, well now it’s in the open at least so that’s one less thing we have to worry about.” He said.

“So where exactly are we going?” I asked, the question not really directed at anyone in particular.

“Norfolk.” Nick replied. “Zak’s request.” He added with a smile.

“Oh really?” I remarked. “And what great tell is in Norfolk?”

Zak shrugged. “I just want to go somewhere fairly quiet and out of the way for a few nights.”

That answer seemed a little farfetched but it was plausible, it meant another three hours in the van but I didn’t mind that in the slightest. I settled back in my seat as the radio returned to cheesy pop songs, preparing for three more hours of karaoke and gorging on chocolate.

**~***~**

I actually managed to fall asleep somehow, the van was warm and the radio kept putting quieter songs on which the guys didn’t feel like singing along to. Either way I woke up to Ringo licking my face and Def Leppard playing through the speakers.

“Afternoon.” Zak greeted me when he turned around to ask Aaron something. “You were out for nearly two hours.” He remarked.

As the chorus of _When love and hate collide_ started, all conversation halted for all three of them to sing along. I had forgotten just how much time passed on these journeys with all the singing and dramatic lip-syncing that occurred.

“As long as no vlogs were recorded then I don’t particularly mind.” I murmured, yawning and shifting Ringo’s weight off my lap.

Aaron grinned at my statement and slowly put his camera back in its case. I spotted it almost immediately and shot him a quizzical look to which he just grinned wider.

“Aaron…” I started before he pointed at Zak’s amused expression.

“Ask him, he started it!” he exclaimed, holding back his laughter.

I looked to Zak who shrugged and put on a bewildered look. “Who me?”

Nick was barely able to control himself as he broke into laughter. I sighed and rubbed my hand over my face. “Can I at least watch any vlogs that star me before you upload them?” I pleaded the bearded man. “Just out of common courtesy.”

“Maybe.” Aaron replied. “Depends when I upload them.”

I groaned, wishing that this van journey was over already. Jay was in hysterics and I’m pretty sure all the guys could hear him as Zak shook his head slightly, turning back around to consult the satnav about our current location.

The rest of the journey was pretty relaxed, we let the radio fill the void between us until we pulled up in a public car park across the street from a particularly old building with Tudor architecture. I was a little confused still as to why we were in a small town with no real objective in mind but I let it slide as we all got out the van and walked towards the building.

‘The Tudor Rose Hotel, Restaurant and Bar’ was written in gold letters on a hanging sign outside, I kept Ringo on a tight leash as we walked inside the small hotel. It was furnished in the Tudor style with wooden beams stretching across the ceiling, neutral colours decorating the walls and furniture, with the exception of the dark wooden check-in desk. The wood flooring creaked slightly underneath us, much like the ancient door creaked as it shut behind Nick.

“Hi there, welcome to the Tudor Rose.” An elder gentleman greeted us from behind the desk, he adjusted his glasses and cufflinks of his suit as Zak approached him. “What can I do for you today?”

“We have reservations for the next few nights.” Zak replied. “They should be under the name Bagans?”

The man, whose nametag stated his name was Tony, typed out a few things into the computer as Zak checked us all in, including Ringo. Aaron started fetching our luggage from the van as Nick and I admired the pictures hanging on the wall. The hotel was clearly very old but when I read the caption of the earliest picture; a detailed pencil sketch of a small Tudor building, it proclaimed that the original building was built in the 1500s.

“Wow this building’s pretty old.” I murmured.

“Ancient Ram Inn is older.” Nick declared, shoving his hands in his pockets. “But still, this place is pretty damn old.”

Zak appeared behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. Clutching the room keys in his hand as he looked at the sketch with us, Aaron finally finished unloading the van and sighed heavily as he put the last case down in the lobby.

“A little help would’ve been nice guys.” He remarked, taking the room key from Zak.

“Sorry dude, here I’ll help you take our bags to our room.” Nick replied, grabbing his case from the cluster.

“Sure dude, where we at?”

“Room…six? Yeah six.” Nick replied, checking the tag on the key. “You guys in room seven then?” he asked Zak.

“Yep, Luna, Ringo and me.”

With that settled, we dumped our stuff in our rooms and regrouped in the bar, this was the first time I was legally allowed to drink, so naturally Zak caved in to my pleading and bought me two vodka shots and muttered something about me not being hungover in the morning or else.

I downed them without too much difficultly, much to Nick’s interest, and ordered another one. Once again Aaron’s camera was back as the third shot arrived. I knew from experience that I could get very drunk very quickly drinking pure vodka so I was limiting myself to three shots before laying off for the rest of the evening.

However Nick and Zak seemed to be plotting something, the brother-like telepathy vibes were strong as I downed the third shot.

“So Luna.” Nick started with a grin. “Is there anything you want to do during the time we’re here?”

“Like anywhere you want to go…experience…visit…you know?” Zak finished, taking my hand in his.

I thought for a moment, my head was a little cloudy already thanks to the alcohol. “Um…no not really, I mean as long as you’re all here I don’t mind what we do.” I answered, squeezing his hand.

For a moment no-one said anything. Zak pulled me closer to him and kissed my neck, I sighed heavily, my hand moving to his thigh and digging my nails into the denim.

I sensed Nick and Aaron exchanging glances before they started a conversation about sports, leaving Zak to continue pressing kisses onto my neck.

“How about we continue this upstairs?” He whispered, reaching down between my legs and stroking my inner thigh.

“Only if you stop being a tease.” I breathed.

“I can’t promise that.”


	3. Raw Nerves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ao3 decided to change the format of chapter posting since last week so if it looks different to normal then that's why.  
> Hit a wall of writer's block this week so apologies if the next chapter is a little late!
> 
> *Lady Antebellum - Our kind of Love*

**Raw Nerves**

 

Sex with Zak always left me wondering how we ever managed to survive being so far apart from each other. I led in his arms, both of us hot and sweaty, it wasn’t even eight in the evening yet. I curled into his hold and tried to remember how long it had been since we last made love to each other.

My thoughts were interrupted slightly by a voice, it wasn’t Jay I was certain of that.

“ _Luna…_ ” it was a faint whisper.

“Hello?” I said quietly so I didn’t wake Zak.

No response. I put it down to my imagination and tried to go to sleep but for some reason my mind wouldn’t settle down. Something about that voice triggered a sense of uneasiness within me.

_“Yo what’s up?_ ” Jay’s calm tone shattered the silence.

“There was a voice.” I stated.

“ _Huh…and your point?_ ”

“It kinda freaked me out.”

Jay was quiet for a few moments, he seemed to be thinking about how to respond for a while.

“ _You want me to have a poke around, see if I can find something?_ ” he asked, I hardly let him go any deeper into my head than my immediate thoughts and feelings. There were just some things that I didn’t want him knowing.

“If you think it’ll help then okay…just don’t go too deep.”

“ _That’s what she said._ ” He sniggered.

I rolled my eyes and buried my face in the crook of Zak’s neck, willing myself to sleep as Zak murmured slightly in his sleep.

 

**~***~**

_Luna_  
 _Luna it’s me_  
 _…_  
 _Don’t you recognise me?_  
 _…_  
 _Oh God you don’t do you?_  
 _Please…you have to remember…_  
 _You have to remember…_   
  


**~***~**

My head hurt when I woke up, Zak was in the shower but the bed was still warm from where he has been sleeping. I sat up, drawing the duvet around me and reached for my phone. The screen was fuzzy to my still half-asleep mind but I established it was somewhere near noon, I lay there for a while trying to soothe the headache that was a side-effect of Jay going through my thoughts...

“ _So I did some digging…_ ” Jay murmured.

“And?”

“ _There wasn’t anything that would…well…there’s nothing I think would start ‘speaking’ to you._ ”

“Impossible.”

“ _Uh…well without digging deeper I can’t be 100% sure._ ”

I rolled over without a word and buried my head in the pillows. I knew I heard something, I knew I dreamt hearing something too but I wasn’t about to tell Jay that, he might think I’m insane.

“ _I know about what you dreamt last night, I may have accidentally caused that._ ”

“What was it then?” I snapped, getting tired of this shit.

“ _You clearly supressed the memory of an event that occurred in your younger years but I can’t access it._ ”

I sighed. If I _did_ supress the memory then there was clearly a reason that I did so, either way it would mean digging up the memory and that was just going to end up being a can of worms that I didn’t want to deal with right now.

“Just leave it alone then.” I muttered. “Don’t bother it.”

Zak seemed to choose that particular moment to walk out of the bathroom.

“Leave what alone?” he asked quietly, obviously noticing me talking to the pillow.

My mind went blank, or rather my thoughts went blank, and there was still this throbbing pain that wouldn’t cease.

“Jay was digging and he touched a raw nerve.” I muttered, still with my head buried. “I have a headache now.”

He sat on the bed and stroked my hair gently. “How bad is it?”

“Meh.” I grunted.

“Need some aspirin?”

I shrugged. He pulled me close to him, his skin still moist from the shower, and hugged me tightly, pressing a kiss to my cheek as he held me.

**~***~**

After about an hour I felt better, we met the others for lunch and took Ringo out for a walk. Aaron and Nick had been casually looking into the area’s history given how old the hotel was.

“So get this, about 60 miles from here is Borley Rectory-” Nick started, looking down at his notepad as Zak jumped in.

“ _The_ Borley Rectory?”

“Yes, the most haunted house in England, _that_ Borley Rectory.” He sighed, Zak’s excitement always causes him to interrupt people. “Built in 1862 and basically shit went down.”

My mind started drifting, we weren’t going to investigate this place and I was already more or less familiar with the rectory’s history, its reputation preceded it on most websites I browsed on the subject.

It was built, like Nick stated, in 1862 near the local church, it was then owned by the reverend of the church. It was built to replace another building which burned down a few years earlier. Various rumours about a relationship between a nun and a monk spread throughout the ages but were found to be just stories for around the campfire. However many other stories were passed down; skulls being found and spurring mysterious bells, phantom carriages, apparent object throwing…just a lot of little stories from different periods…oh and an exorcism…

Nick had just finished recounting the basic history to Zak when we reached the edge of the field, Ringo seemed reasonably tired after such a long walk through the village and around the footpaths outside of it so we decided to take him back to the hotel. On the way back however we were stopped by three people; two girls and a guy.

“Oh my god it’s the Ghost Adventures crew!” one of the girls nearly shrieked, grabbing the other girl’s arm.

“Hey there.” Zak greeted them before they fell into some kind of hysteria. “You guys fans then?”

“Yeah dude we are.” The guy replied as his two friends were too starstruck to answer.

“Awesome!” Aaron exclaimed, fist-bumping the guy who introduced himself as Ben. “You long-time fans?”

“Heck yeah! Been watching since season 2.” Ben was a lot more chilled than his two female friends who were still in the midst of freaking out. Typical fangirls, then again I didn’t blame them.

“Are you two okay?” I asked the two girls as Ben continued talking with Aaron and Zak. I could see that they were twins, they both had long blonde hair, similar figures and even similar fashion tastes.

One of them nodded and smiled. “Yeah, it’s just so exciting to actually _meet_ you guys!” the other said.

“So what are your names?”

“I’m Annie, this is Claire.”

_You have to remember_

I shook my head slightly, hoping that it was just Jay playing with my thoughts again.

“So are you guys filming in the area?” Ben asked.

“No, we just came for a bit of a break from filming in the States.” Nick replied.

“Oh? New season coming soon then?” Annie eagerly asked.

“Yeah hopefully, Billy is finishing up the editing now actually.”

“There are tonnes of places nearby that you could visit though, well somewhat nearby. We’re not too far from Norwich which has some interesting places.” Claire said. “And of course Borley Rectory isn’t that far from here either.”

We looked at each other with amusement, Nick and Aaron raising their eyebrows at me in an ‘I told you so’ fashion.

“Yeah we know about Borley Rectory.” I remarked. “Hard not to as it _is_ the most haunted house in England.”

“Mostly ruined now though thanks to that fire.” Aaron sighed. “It would be pretty cool to visit it though.”

“Aw…well it would be totally awesome if you did.”

“We’ll see what we can do.” Zak remarked, folding his arms across his chest.

That statement sounded more than just a little white lie to satisfy the fans which led me to believe that this wasn’t going to stay a simple vacation for much longer.


	4. Time Loops

**Time Loops**

The infamous Borley Rectory was built in 1863. It was 1927 when the eerie events started happening when the reverend’s wife found a skull in a cupboard which set off a chain of poltergeist activity which is documented on many websites across the internet. Many legends and stories have been told, although details had been changed and lost over the years, some even changing the tales completely and so it was difficult to tell just what was fact and what was fiction.

All that remained of the rectory was the ground floor and the shell of the upper floor. There was no roof to speak of, it had been badly damaged in the last fire in 1939, three quarters of a century before we arrived there on that early June morning. The chimneys still stood reaching up to the sky in defiance, almost as if they were refusing to crumble like the upper floor. The ground floor appeared to be sturdy and almost untouched by nature’s grasp except for the ivy clinging to the window frames.

“Well…this is certainly…creepy.” Aaron murmured uncertainly as we looked the building over. A gentle breeze swirled around us, I kept Ringo sat by me as Nick and Aaron got some of the equipment out of the van for our walkthrough, Zak placed a hand on my shoulder and kissed my cheek before looking up at the red brick building.

“Can’t believe this is the most haunted house in England.” He whispered. “And that we managed to get a lockdown here.”

I was a little put out at investigating but getting a chance like this wasn’t going to be passed up. The owners of the now derelict building were understandably strict about who they let onto the site and for how long. They’d had many vandals and amateur ghost hunters over the years so when we got the green light – after many hours of waiting in the hotel room once Zak had enquired – it was all we could do to not just leave straight away.

“Right so let’s set the cameras up and get on with the walkthrough.” Zak declared. We were being shown around by a historian with the typical southern English accent which we had grown accustomed to in the short time we had been in this part of the country.

Even though the building was effectively ruins as far as the lack of roof was concerned, much of the structure remained the same; the layout was similar to that of the original building with the exception of a few adjustments here and there; the building surrounded a courtyard. We were shown around the ground floor, the twisting passageways which spilt off to different rooms in different states of decaying.

It was then that the historian started telling us about the claims of activity, straight from the works of the man who investigated the building back in 1940, when ghosts were a taboo subject still across much of the western culture.

“So I assume you’re aware of the history of this place?” The historian named Will asked us.

“Vaguely, we know it’s been destroyed by fire and that it’s the most haunted house in England. As for specifics…something about a nun and a monk? That’s all really.” Zak replied

“Okay then.” Will smiled at us before taking a deep breath. “Built in 1863 by Reverend Bull it became home for him, his wife and their fourteen children. There weren’t very many homes close by as this area was a hamlet – a small collection of house without a church nearby – hence the church and rectory being built. Allegedly there was a monastery from the 12th century not far from here and one of the more well-known legends of the rectory is that a nun from the church and a monk from the rectory fell in love – forbidden love that is. Once they were discovered the monk was executed and the nun, well she was bricked up alive in the convent walls.”

“Wow.” Nick breathed, looking to Zak’s disbelieving expression.

“We’re just getting started.” Will remarked.

He gave us a few moments to write down some of the details before continuing. “It was confirmed that the story has no historical evidence and was probably, although not certain, a piece of fiction fabricated by Bull’s children.”

Ringo started pawing at the floorboards, clearly bored with the current activity. I released his leash slightly so he could lie down comfortably at our feet and have a nap if he wished.

“Over the next few years there were reports of footsteps being heard by all members of the family, fairly low key events such as a few whispers and other low level activity. In 1900 four daughters of the reverend all reported seeing a nun about 37 metres from the house, they tried to communicate but to no avail. An outsider of the family reported that the entire family had become adamant that they had seen this nun on frequent occasions in the evening.”

We were all overwhelmed at this, Will wasn’t even halfway through telling us everything it seemed.

“Fast forward to 1927, this is when all the activity stepped up a notch.” Will continued. “One of the rectors, that’s another name for the reverend, made a hasty departure after seeing some weird lights. Shortly after he left another moved in with his wife. His wife was named Marianne and she quickly became the focus of a lot of escalated activity.”

Zak asked Will to pause for a few moments so we could gather our thoughts, we were stood in what would’ve been the dining room with the breeze filtering through the window frames. Nick and Aaron sighed and exchanged glances of shock as we prepared to listen to the rest of what Will had to say.

“Activity started off pretty small scale; phantom knocking, doors mysteriously knocking, objects going missing. Then it escalated, windows smashed and the knocking grew louder. Aggression became apparent when Marianne was forcefully dragged from her bed and attacked maliciously. At one point she was even nearly suffocated by a mattress held on top of her.”

“Whoa dude…” Aaron exclaimed.

“Hold on there buddy, we haven’t gotten to the good part yet.” Will smiled. “So the couple appealed for help, help which came in the form of Harry Price. He started investigating with Marianne present in the house; all activity was pointed towards her. The major event that occurred during Price’s investigation was writing appearing on the walls; ‘Marianne, please help, get.’ And ‘Marianne light mass prayers’, along with the letters MA.”

“Jesus…” Zak murmured.

“The couple moved out in 1935 and Price moved in. He gathered people to help him investigate the house; 40 in total. They conducted séances and experiments to try and solve the mysteries of the house. One séance in particular is well documented; a nun by the name of Marie Lairre contacted them who died by her husband’s hand after abandoning her convent to marry him. She said that her body was placed in the cellar of this building.”

Will was just carrying on and on with all of this history and activity. My mind was struggling to keep up with it, especially as I had a lingering headache for no apparent reason.

“The séance also produced communication from another spirit who predicted the remains of the nun being found in the ruins of the building after it burned down that night; 27th March 1938. However it is documented that the building was set alight deliberately 11 months later to the date; 27th February 1939. Once the cellar was exposed Harry Price did indeed find the remains of what most believe to be an adult female.”

An eerie silence fell as Will finally finished, he looked rather smug at leaving us all speechless. We looked to Zak for any kind of hint as to what to do.

“This writing on the wall…is it documented where they appeared?” Zak asked after a few moments of thought.

“Sure, there are two sites on this floor and then the rest are upstairs.”

He led us down the passageway towards the kitchen, stopping just short of the door and facing the wall that the courtyard backs onto. “Here’s one, the other is just a few paces back.”

The walls were simple red brickwork as the rest of the building was, there was very little to show anything paranormal had occurred.

“What were they written with?” Zak asked as Aaron placed down some tape to mark the spot.

“Pencil, there are copies of them somewhere in archive but they’re also all over the web.”

Will led us upstairs and pointed out five other spots which were all marked by Aaron. As far as the rest of the building was concerned there was little in the way of hotspots, then again the accounts of activity only reported what happened, not _where_ they happened. He finally left us to set up in peace as the sun began its slow decent in the sky above us.

As it was still daylight and this location was simple to navigate I was tasked with setting up the static camera in the dining room shooting down the hallway to the kitchen. Ringo sat obediently by the door simply watching me as I fiddled with the tripod legs. This place didn’t really _feel_ that haunted, the reputation was preceding it but nothing else really indicated that I was stood in the most haunted house in England.

“Feel anything Jay?” I asked out loud.

“ _It’s a little bit charged_.” He murmured. “ _I don’t really…I don’t really know._ ”

His uncertainty made me feel slightly uneasy. Jay was my extra senses; he could feel the energy surging through buildings more than I could and if he didn’t know what was going on then I had to be on guard.

“What do you mean?” I asked, fitting the camera into the tripod’s fixture and reaching for the radio to ask if the shot was good.

“ _It feels like there’s a veil over the building, as if someone has tried to get rid of anything residing here._ ”

I paused, processing what Jay had said. “You said tried.”

“ _Indeed_.”

“Did they fail then?”

“ _I’m not sure._ ”

I radioed Aaron and the camera came online, the little red light flashing periodically as it captured the hallway and then the kitchen. Before I got a chance to head back I was told that I had to go and bring the static cameras upstairs online, something about a particular order to starting them all recording.

With a sigh I ushered Ringo ahead of me as I walked up the old staircase, Jay’s words were turning over in my mind. Was he trying to say an exorcism or a blessing took place and it wasn’t effective?

I heard Nick in one of the bedrooms along the corridor and made a note to join him when I had turned the cameras on. The upper floor felt different to downstairs, I had a lingering sense that something had happened on the landing I was stood on. Ringo whimpered slightly which confirmed my sense that something was off. The only thing I could pinpoint was that it was slightly colder than anywhere else in the house, it was something I hadn’t picked up on during our walkthrough.

“ _You feel it?_ ” Jay asked.

I nodded, looking down at Ringo. “I feel it.”

Nick walked out of one of the bedrooms and spotted me. “Hey Luna I thought you were meant to be turning the cameras on-” he stopped right in front of me and glanced around looking puzzled.

I raised an eyebrow to him as he put his hands out between us.

“Is it colder here than the rest of the house or is that just me?”

“It’s colder here.” I answered, watching Ringo edge towards the stairs hoping I wouldn’t see him trying to escape.

“Huh…”

We stood there for a while, simply trying to debunk this cold spot. The hallway was long and a draft could easily be travelling through the space, however this seemed like a hovering cold spot just at the top of the stairs. The lack of a ventilation system seemed to support the theory that there was some kind of energy spike here.

Ringo by this point was already a few steps down the flight of stairs, as far as his leash would allow him to go. I sighed and tugged for him to return by my side, he refused with a growl and instead tugged free out of my grasp; the leash softly thudding against the wooden stairs as he bolted from the area. I looked to Nick with a puzzled expression, he shrugged in reply.

**~***~**

Nick and I turned the other cameras on, lining them up with Aaron’s assistance via radio. Zak has apparently found Ringo in the cellar that he was poking around in, putting my mind slightly at ease as I told him why Ringo wasn’t with us in the first place.

We regrouped outside, dusk was upon us already and we hurried to establish a gameplan for the night. As the house was quite spread out we decided to split up at some point to conduct individual EVP sessions but for the first part we’d stick together.

“So, we’re here in Essex at the most haunted house in England; Borley Rectory has some of the earliest documented paranormal experiences in the country; and we’re getting locked in tonight.” Zak narrated to the camera, flashing his eager smile as he finished.

Ringo had been unsettled since he bolted from the stairs earlier, whimpering slightly as Will locked us in and even shying away from Aaron as he tried to fit the new harness Camera he had been working on. I was a little concerned by this but I chose to try and supress it for the time being.

“There’s been a lot of amateur ghost hunting going on here guys so let’s be cautious, they might’ve stirred some things up unintentionally.” Zak told us as he divided the equipment up between us, I received the typical flashlight, EMF meter and digital recorder combination as well as one of the radios.

Zak opted to begin in the dining room. The general EMF level of the entire building was pretty low; only a 0.5 at most which made sense as there was no power. The room was silent, we stood there without saying a word to each other; letting the building settle before we inevitably stirred it all up.

“Is there anyone here with us tonight?” He asked eventually.

The building remained silent, a gentle breeze from the window gaps stirred the air around us. I tried to see if there were any spikes in EMF but my eyes hadn’t quite adjusted to the darkness enough to even find the right button from memory.

“Can you please let us know you are here.” Zak asked, his commanding tone piercing the darkness.

Ringo whimpered slightly, tugging on the leash. He clearly didn’t like something about this place but I couldn’t pinpoint what he was so unsettled about. Jay was being quiet, his comments earlier about feeling the ‘veil’ over the building were being replayed in my mind as Zak continued his EVP session, I was expecting something to happen; Jay rarely became paranoid or puzzled by things like this without a good cause.

The creaking of floorboards above us made everyone look up, or at least I assumed so as Zak stopped mid-sentence and I heard the rustling of clothing as the cameras were panned upwards.

“What’s above us?” Aaron whispered.

“One of the many bedrooms…” Zak replied in a hushed tone. “…I guess it was just the building settling.”

“Probably.” Nick murmured. “Try addressing it though.”

“Is there someone upstairs right now?”

The building yielded no response to Zak’s question so we simply assumed that it was just the noises of the structure setting, even when an otherworldly sense tugged at my thoughts saying otherwise. I knew Ringo heard the creaking and that he was hearing other things that we didn’t, sensing something else with us in that moment. Jay was quiet as usual so he wouldn’t contaminate the recordings, his comforting presence was keeping me grounded as the silence continued.

“I want you to make your presence known.” Zak continued, a sterner tone setting in. “Do something to show us you are here with us right now.”

Another creak came from above us. It would’ve been so easy to debunk it again but the timing was so precise that I felt the energy between us change, Zak and Nick’s telepathy was probably active as the younger male quietly walked out of the dining room towards the staircase. The stairs creaked under his feet as he ascended to the upper floor; Zak tagging his movements as we waited until he was above us, exactly where the creaking was coming from.

I heard a muffled question asked, not clear enough to make out exact words but enough for me to tell he was asking if there was someone with him.

As we began to re-establish ourselves in the dining room, minus Nick’s assistance, I felt a slight paranoia beginning to creep over me, with no prior knowledge or experience of this feeling in the room. I cleared my throat quietly, absentmindedly looking down the hall to the kitchen. The shadows cast by the moonlight made the room look sinister as with the hall.

I continued looking down the narrow space at what I could only describe as an inviting room, I didn’t know why it seemed inviting but it certainly made me feel uneasy. After checking with Zak that it was okay for me to walk just down there and back as long as I tagged my movements on my recorder, I slowly and quietly proceeded to the kitchen, Ringo staying in the dining room with the others.

The kitchen was almost bare of any recognisable features, the cabinets were long gone, degraded beyond use, the stove – or what was left of it – lay on its side, a few utensils were spread around the floor covered in what I thought was dust but I realised it was ash.

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, my skin crawled, and this long-lost feeling of being alone in a supposedly haunted location was getting to me again.

“Is there anyone here?” I asked quietly, running my fingers along one of the more stable counters that still clung to the wall desperately. “Can you tell me what year it is?” A simple yet telling question; a lot can be deducted from a response to it.

Zak and Aaron were conducting an EVP session in the dining room, Nick was still upstairs to my knowledge. I felt a gentle movement of air across my arm; like Jay had run his fingers down in the familiar friendly fashion he usually does.

_No that wasn’t me._ Jay murmured in my thoughts, he had reverted to his telepathic communication it seemed.

His notification unsettled me, there wasn’t a residual draft running through the kitchen like the dining room so there was no logical explanation for the sensation.

“Hello?” I asked, casting a glance around the eerily lit room. “If you’re here, tell me today’s date.”

The sensation came again, this time across my bare shoulders. It almost mimicked Zak’s actions when he brushes my hair aside which really unsettled me.

“I demand you answer me.” I stated, my tone stern.

A single footstep behind me threw my resolve. I spun around only to be greeted with the dark corner of the kitchen, I saw a door that sparked my curiosity, my hand itched to pull the handle but I had no idea what I’d find behind it and I was already beginning to feel isolated just down the hall from Zak and Aaron without wandering off into the maze of passages that this building could hold.

“ _…June…_ ” a low tone resonated around me.

My hands clenched into fists as I spun around again, facing the counter again. “Pardon?”

_It said June, dingus._ Jay remarked.

That was this month. I swallowed hard. “Okay. What year is it?” I asked. “It is June, but what _year_ is it?”

There was little to indicate the presence of something with me, I hadn’t even thought about asking for a name or a reason for them being here, I had just become fixated with dates and times.

“ _…1939…_ ”

The year of the fire, the fire that destroyed the rectory. The fire that was supposedly started deliberately but no-one knows who by. It sent chills through me, it also brought another question forward; it knew the current month but not the current year, does this make it a residual or intelligent haunting?

My reasoning said intelligent, it responded to me after all, however was it stuck in a time loop and therefore truly believing it was 1939? Or was something more sinister at play?

After a few more moments of thought I decided that Zak ought to be told, he would probably change the entire focus of the current session towards this voice. As I was about to leave and find him and Aaron I felt a colder pressure on my shoulder, like a hand, a cold heavy hand gripping my flesh and forcing me to not pass over the threshold of the kitchen.


	5. Smoke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a little late.  
> I just found out my uncle has cancer.  
> And my internet is being shit again.  
> So please forgive me if the next few chapters are late, I'm feeling pretty shit at the moment.

**Smoke**

 

I swallowed, the icy hand still rooting me to the spot in the kitchen. I could see down the hall and into the dining room; or at least the small red light on the static camera blinking at me through the darkness anyway.

Carefully, I raised my hand to where I felt the pressure on my shoulder, of course there was nothing even remotely attached to me that would be causing such a sensation.

“Who’s here with me?” I eventually asked when my feet refused to step through the doorway, leaving me still stood frozen in isolation – or so I had wrongly assumed until now.

A few moments passed with no reaction, the pressure didn’t lift, I heard no voices or utterances, nothing at all.

“If you’re not going to answer me then let me leave this room.” I stated.

At first there was no relief from the grip. I tried to shrug the feeling off with little success, I was beginning to lose grasp of what was happening.

“Luna, you okay in there?” Zak called from the dining room. I felt a sense of relief wash over me as the grip lessened quickly, the sensation fading within seconds.

“Uh yeah I’m okay.” I replied, making my way across the threshold of the room at long last. When I re-entered the dining room Ringo whined slightly and pawed at my leg, sensing my ordeal in the kitchen. The change in the atmosphere was noticeable for me, this room now felt charged, I expected that Zak was behind it somewhat.

“You sure?” Aaron asked, noticing Ringo’s behaviour.

“Yeah, just some weird energy in the kitchen. Um…” I murmured, debating whether to tell them about the voice I heard. “I did hear something though.”

“What?” Zak immediately asked, his attention focused on me.

“I asked whatever was with me to tell me what year it was.” I stated, knowing full well that the camera was now recording my account. “I figured if they could tell me then it would show an intelligent haunting. Well they responded with ‘June 1939’.”

“Seriously?” Aaron exclaimed.

“It’s all on the digital recorder…I hope.”

They rewound the recorder that was actually still rolling, the voice was clear as day imprinted on the static silence between my questions.

“The year of the fire…a few months after the fire.” Zak uttered. “Huh...”

“You think we should find Nick or split up?” Aaron asked.

“You go find Nick and continue poking around upstairs. Luna, you’re with me in the basement. I think we should see if the nun is still around even though her body has been moved.”

**~***~**

Basements are creepy enough when they’ve been opened up, creepier still when a spirit said that when the basement was opened up it would reveal a body. I patiently watched Ringo sniff around through the screen of the camera, Zak was just checking the door was properly shut before we began our session.

“So where were the remains found?” I asked, Ringo’s ears pricked up slightly as he dug about the rough gravelly flooring.

“Just over near where Ringo is.” Zak answered. “They filled in the hole with dirt and gravel so the structure wouldn’t collapse on it.”

“Okay, and they were removed?”

“Yup to the local church, apparently there is activity there now but I reckon there might be some residual energy sticking around here.”

I panned over the gravel, nothing remarkable about it whatsoever. The basement wasn’t very active, we must’ve stayed there for nearly an hour with nothing to imply that there was anything here.

“I’m not feeling anything.” I sighed. “Ringo seems pretty relaxed too.”

“Yeah I had to admit it was a long shot. Let’s go find the others.”

We found Nick and Aaron in one of the bigger bedrooms upstairs, apparently they had been experiencing very little as well.

“I’m not sure what’s going on here. Luna’s the only one who’s actually experienced anything in the entire building.” Zak stated, we were trying to figure out what our next plan of attack was.

“Oh?” Nick asked, he hadn’t heard about my experience.

“I heard a voice and was held back by some kind of force on my shoulder.” I explained in brief to him. “It’s the only activity we actually have on record.”

After a few minutes of deliberation Zak decided we were going back to the kitchen to find the spirit I had been speaking with. It felt a lot smaller with all of us crowded in the room, Ringo was left to roam the building so there was one less body in the space.

I felt slight apprehensive at first, the feeling of the hand on my shoulder was tugging at my thoughts.  Jay had gone quiet which also make me slightly paranoid in the almost pitch dark, I clutched the EMF meter in my hands as Zak began attempting to communicate.

“Is there anyone with us right now?” he asked. “Did you talk to Luna earlier?”

I felt a cold breeze brush over my shoulder, I tensed slightly as I beat the paranoia down with a mental block. Surely it wouldn’t choose me again would it?

“Can you tell us what happened here? In this room? In this building?” Nick asked, breaking the silence.

Another breeze, goosebumps broke out on my shoulders, I questioned why I had left my jacket in the van.

“What happened to this rectory?” Zak persisted, his tone curious but demanding an answer.

“Guys is it cold in here or is it just me?” Aaron whispered. “’cause I’m getting the chills man.”

Nick and Zak declined to comment, I felt that I should say something to break the tension but for some reason my lips refused to move to form the words. I squeezed the EMF meter in my hands, willing for something to break the silence.

“No, it’s just you.” Nick eventually answered, Zak gave a grunt of agreement. “Luna, why are you so quiet?”

Another breeze whipped around me, however this time it was warm, oddly warm like someone had opened an oven and all the heat vented out and spiralled around me.

“I-I’m good. Just taking in the atmosphere.” I uttered, staring at the stable reading on the EMF screen.

“You try drawing the spirit out, it did contact you in the first place.”

I sighed, trying to battle the paranoid thought of being victimised again as I thought about what to ask. “Okay, do you remember what happened here in 1939?” I asked.

_You have to remember_

I raised my hand to my forehead quickly but silently as I swatted _that_ thought away, Jay really needed to figure out what that is and why it keeps bothering me.

As I was about to repeat myself I felt a warm pressure around me, just as if Zak was hugging me. I put my arms out to grasp whoever or whatever was there but…there was nothing.

“Something wrong?” Aaron murmured.

“Warmth.” I stated. “Why is it warm?”

Zak muttered something to Nick but remained silent to Aaron and I. A few minutes passed where no one said anything, I was perplexed rather than scared about this warmth surrounding me. It didn’t feel comforting but it didn’t feel threatening, that was until I smelled smoke.

“Fire?” I asked. “Are you trying to say that a fire happened?”

Zak’s flashlight immediately went on at the mention of fire, the spotlight jolted around the room quickly as he searched for any sign of an actual fire breaking out.

“Answer me now, were you responsible for the fire that destroyed this rectory?” I demanded, feeling the warmth around me intensify. “And are you trying to do it again?”

I sensed the panic deeper within myself but I had found some courage to address this situation. The others were silent, Zak was interested to see how I dealt with sudden changes in atmosphere so he quiet most of the time when things took off, however I could tell he wasn’t going to let this one simply play out.

“Aaron, go down to the basement and see if there’s anything down there.” He said quietly. Aaron went with no questioning of Zak’s orders.

“Answer her.” Nick commanded whatever was potentially with us.

“ _…Mariaaaanne._ ” A drawn out whisper echoed around us. I felt a chill down my spine despite the abnormal warmth.

Before we could address the bizarre mention of the last woman to live in the rectory, Ringo came scampering into the kitchen and jumped up against my chest, pawing my shirt and whimpering.

“What is it boy?” I asked him, clinging to his collar as I crouched down to his level.

He whined loudly, his ears were flattened and he pressed his nose against me. He was scared and that was a bad thing. I put my flashlight on and examined him quickly for any sign of where he had been or what had happened. He wouldn’t stay still, he kept trotting back and forth between me and Zak.

“Is he trying to signal something?” Nick asked as Ringo whined again.

Zak was confused to say the least. Ringo rarely acted up on a lockdown without a good reason, and even then it was fairly minor behavioural issues, nothing to this scale.

“Jay what happened to him?” I asked out loud, begging my spiritual guardian to give us some answers, what I got instead was unexpected.

“ _…prayers…_ ” a loud whisper echoed around us.

Ringo barked in response before burying his face in my shirt again as I sat on the floor. I coaxed him to settle slightly as Zak started pacing around he stopped dead in his tracks at the doorway to the hallway.

“…is someone gripping my shoulder right now?” he asked.

I looked down at the EMF meter which was fluctuating like mad, I looked to Zak who was grounded at the doorway much like I was earlier that night. Nick was the only one to act; stepping forwards and panning his EMF meter around Zak’s shoulders, it lit up in the dim light of the flashlight and proclaimed a high reading, mine was all over the place. Whatever was here, it was active.

“Who is with us right now?” Zak asked. “I demand you answer me right now.”

“ _....1939._ ”

“Were you responsible for the fire?” Nick asked.

Ringo barked, scampering out of my hold and started growling at Zak who was still rooted to the spot in the doorway. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t slightly scared at the prospect of something harming Zak.

It was then, whilst Ringo was still on edge, that Jay’s comment about a veil came back to me.

“Did they try to bless this place? Is that what you want?” I asked. “Is that why you were asking for prayers from Marianne? Do you want to leave this world fully?”

Ringo was silent, the warm air seemed to cool significantly and Zak backed away from the door slowly.

“Am I right?”

The room was silent and seemed empty. I sighed, feeling drained. Zak knelt down next to me and put an arm around my shoulders in silence. Nick did and EMF sweep to see if the spirit had really left or not.

Aaron returned to me nearly falling asleep on Zak, he chuckled and reported that the basement was dead. With little else to go on we decided to end our investigation and just let the static cameras roll for the rest of the night.

**~***~**

Zak was oddly quiet as we packed up the equipment. I was drained but I had learnt over the past year to just power through the exhaustion until I fell asleep on my feet. Ringo was asleep in the van with little sign of waking.

The early morning light made my eyes water, it was misty and there was a slight chill in the air. Nick sighed as he shoved the last case into the back of the van and closed the door, he gave me a tired smile as we waited for Will to reappear. I decided to just sit in the van with Zak and Ringo whilst the other two stood around in the mist.

“You okay?” I asked Zak, poking his shoulder from the seat behind him.

“Yeah.” He murmured half-heartedly.

“What’s on your mind?”

He sighed and stretched before stating coldly. “We’re going back to the states.”

 


	6. Tension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's funny how my current life situations manifest themselves in my writing. Not necessarily word for word, but the emotions are the same...

  **Tension** **  
**

“…what?” Nick asked, he clearly had no idea what had brought all this on.

“We’re going back to the states. Billy has found us a rather disturbing location.” Zak repeated.

“And Ringo?” I interrupted.

“He can come too as long as he’s had his vaccinations.”

The van was silent, we weren’t too far from the hotel but it felt suffocating.

“What great tell is this location Billy found?” Nick uttered, a little annoyed by this sudden development.

“It’s an abandoned boarding school.” Zak said.

“And why exactly are we dropping any locations we had in mind _here_ to go to a boarding school? What kind of haunting is it?” Nick’s tone unnerved me slightly.

“Borderline demonic. Think Leap Castle.”

“Really now.”

“Yes.”

“Why are you being so cold about this?”

“Because I’m serious Nick.”

I looked helplessly to Aaron who gave a sympathetic smile in return and offered his hand in a friendly gesture. I took it and squeezed. I hated it when Nick and Zak argued like this. It was a rare occurrence but it was unpleasant nonetheless.

“I don’t understand why we have to do this _now_. Why can’t we wait another few weeks?”

“Nick. It’s being renovated and reopened _as a boarding school_.” Zak snapped. “If there is something there then we have to investigate and tell the owners. These are kids we’re talking about Nick. Think about what you and Roni would do if you sent Annabelle to a school haunted by a _demon_?!”

The younger male went quiet, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel. Zak didn’t make any more comments for the rest of the journey. The silence was overpowering.

**~***~**

“Luna are you okay in there?” Zak’s voice called from the otherside of the bathroom door. I had been stood in the shower for nearly an hour now which was unusual for me. I just needed some time alone with my thoughts, with Jay’s soothing presence, without Zak’s slightly cold and hostile presence.

“Yeah.” I replied. “Just thinking.”

“Listen, I’m sorry I argued with Nick like that in front of you…I just needed him to understand.”

I leaned against the wall, water cascading down my back and slightly scalding my skin. I didn’t mind, it proved that I was still awake. I hadn’t slept yet, it was nearly noon.

“Sweetheart?”

“Yeah. Fine.” I murmured. I heard him sigh and back away from the door, a few seconds later I heard the room door slam shut as he left.

“ _…you should get out now._ ” Jay uttered.

“No.”

He sighed and the shower stopped immediately as he manipulated the controls. “ _Out._ ” He commanded.

I rolled my eyes, stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself. “Happy?”

“ _You’re letting Zak’s mood affect you again._ ”

“Of course I am.”

“ _Dry off and get some sleep._ ”

I did as I was told without question, drying off and changing into my bed clothes. It took me a while to actually drift off to sleep and once I did I found myself in Preston Castle.

_Not this again Jay._

_“problem?”_

_“Too bad.”_

The building had fallen into ruin, like the state in the present. Everything was cast in a white glow. Jay was stood in front of me, fully manifested and smiling.

“ _This is how I see the building today. How we all see it._ ” He said, gesturing to the walls of the hallway.

_We?_

_“Yes, the spirits that wander this place.”_

_Why are you showing me this now?_

“ _Be quiet and let me show you something_.”

He took my hand and led me to the top floor, I forgot if I ever actually went up this far in the real world. Once we reached the top of the staircase he took me to a small room where a little boy was sleeping.

_Who’s this?_

“ _This is Vince. He was like a younger brother to me.”_

_How come you haven’t shown me before?_

_“There’s a time and place to remember those who are important to us. Vince died a short time before I did, he fell from this window and bled out on the ground.”_

The boy in the bed stirred slightly in his sleep but did not wake. I guessed he was around six or seven years old.

“ _He kept me company in the years after I died before you guys came along. When I got sent back here by the bishop I was reunited with him. Now he’s all alone again, well without me at least.”_

_Are you trying to ask me something?_

_“Possibly.”_

Vince rolled over and teetered on the edge of his bed.

_I don’t know Jay. I mean, he’s a lot younger than us, I don’t really want him seeing half of the stuff we experience, especially with this next location._

_“It’s okay, it was only an idea. We should leave before he wakes up.”_

The building disintegrated in front of me, plunging me back into darkness.

**~***~**

I woke up encased in Zak’s arms, he was awake and pressing kisses to my forehead. When he noticed I was also awake he pulled back slightly.

“Morning.” He whispered, he seemed worried and unsure of how I was going to react.

“Morning Zak.” I whispered back.

“I’m sorry for earlier. I just…I needed some alone time.”

“Me too.”

We led in bed for a while, I was informed that Ringo was once again with Aaron, Nick was still far from happy about dropping any planned lockdowns and downtime to go and investigate a haunted school but he was booking the flights nonetheless, he was even sorting out Ringo’s travel arrangements so he could join us – which I was aware was a tedious and expensive process however we could claim it back on expenses apparently – all without a word to Zak.

I decided to call Kate and clue her in on our situation, how I was just going to disappear overnight to the states again. I was now very thankful that I had brought my passport with me as ID so I could drink in the bar, at least we didn’t have to go all the way back to Kate’s to get it.

She was rather amused at the situation.

So amused that she laughed down the phone at me for nearly five minutes before telling me to have fun and _don’t forget the salt!_ She had been watching Supernatural again and hadn’t quite grasped the term ‘demonic’ and all the risks involved. I didn’t bother trying to explain.

We joined Aaron to get a bite to eat , Nick didn’t answer when I knocked on his door. This unspoken rift between him and Zak was getting a little hard to handle. We ate with Aaron, it was pleasant enough but with no word from Nick about our travel arrangements there was little to talk about other than the investigation.

“I wouldn’t say it wasn’t productive, I mean we got some great EVPs.” I said, placing my cutlery down on my empty plate. “Just a lack of visual evidence.”

“With the exception of the footage of the EMF meters.” Zak added.

“No manifestations or object manipulation is what I was referring to.” I remarked.

It was nearly midnight when we left the bar area, Aaron volunteered to walk Ringo quickly before going to sleep. Zak decided to take a shower before bed so I paid Nick one final visit to see if he would actually talk to me.

“Nick?” I called, knocking on his room door. “Nick please talk to me, it’s just me out here.”

I was about to walk away when I heard the lock turn. He opened the door slowly and poked his head out. “What?” he muttered, voice almost a growl.

“I just wanted to check in on you.”

“I’m not a child.”

“ _You’re acting like one…._ ” Jay uttered in my head. I slapped him away.

I just stood there in the doorway unsure of how to respond, he looked at me with a cold look but let me into his room. Nick wasn’t an untidy person normally but his room was in a right state; his laptop was on and various pieces of note paper were scattered around the desk in no particular organised state. His case lay half packed on the floor with clothes spilling out of the pouches.

“Nick, what’s bugging you?” I asked, leaning against the bed as he minimised the tabs on the laptop.

He was silent for a few minutes before sighing heavily. “I hate how impulsive Zak is sometimes. Like he’ll just decide something and roll with it without really asking anyone, which is fine if it just affects him but when it’s all of us _and_ is leading us to a demonic hotspot…well…that’s a different ball-game.”

I could see what he was saying, I felt the same way sometimes, I knew Zak wouldn’t put us in any immediate danger. I knew Zak would exercise caution and not let us do anything _too_ stupid. It didn’t make me feel 100% okay with going though.

“Well Zak won’t deliberately put us in harm’s way.”

“True. I’ll give him that much. I just wish he’d _ask_ rather than _assume._ ”

I gave him a sympathetic smile before taking a glance at one of the notes, a checklist dictating what Ringo needs to be allowed into the US, it was all ticked off and a neat line through each one.

“All done sorting stuff out?” I asked.

“Yeah, we fly out in four days, assuming Ringo’s box gets here, otherwise we’ll have to pay for one at the airport…which would be a pain.”

“That quickly though?”

“Ringo’s a fairly average sized dog, his box is in plentiful supply. It should have no problem getting here.”

We were quiet for a few moments, I was glad he wasn’t completely shutting us out but I needed him to settle things with Zak before we flew out, it could get dangerous once we were at this location – who knew what would happen.

“Nick, promise me you’ll clear the air with Zak before we fly out.”

He didn’t answer for a few seconds which unnerved me slightly, eventually he smiled. “Yeah, I can’t stay mad at that goofball for long anyway. I promise I’ll sort everything out before we fly.”

I smiled and hugged him. That’s all I wanted to hear in that moment, I hated tension within the group, especially when I can’t control it. I said goodnight to him and let myself out in to the hallway. Jay sighed slightly beside me, clearly annoyed by the mundane situation.

“Didn’t you say there’s a time and a place to remember those who are important to us?” I remarked as I walked back towards my room.

“ _Hush._ ” He replied.

“Make me.”

“ _I’ll get Zak to make you_.”

“No you won’t.”

“ _Wanna bet on that one?_ ”

I put my hand on the door handle, closing my fingers around the cool metal.

“Try me Jay.”


	7. Precautions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a little late, I got drunk last night and wasn't in a fit state to post an update xD

**Precautions**

 

We landed in New York a few days later, Ringo seemed calm enough in his box to not need sedation which was a relief. Billy drove up from Zak’s house with Gracie and another team member to help out with this monster of a location.

“So Luna this is Jay Wasley.” Billy said, gesturing to the tall, slightly rugged man beside him. “Jay this is Luna, Zak’s girlfriend.”

“Ah I’ve heard many things about you.” Jay laughed, smiling warmly as he shook my hand.

“And I’ve seen you many times on vlogs and lockdowns.” I replied.

“ _hmph…I had this name first…_ ” my own Jay muttered loudly for everyone to hear.

Everyone laughed, I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle having two Jay’s. Turns out the new Jay was helping Billy run the base of our lockdown which apparently is one of the darkest ones yet.

Ringo and Gracie bounded around the parking lot, yipping excitedly to each other as they played. I wondered why we were still stood in the parking lot of our hotel rather than going to check out the location, Zak had disappeared with his phone in hand and muttered something about final precautions.

I was curious, what precautions did he have to set up this time?

“Yo fancy helping me take a final check of the equipment we need?” Aaron asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah sure.” I replied, following him to the van. We didn’t need that much for a walkthrough, just the two professional cameras, lighting, a butt-load of duct tape and one of the cases that held an EMF meter, a recorder, a thermal imaging camera and quite a few cables that I still wasn’t sure what they were for.

“We need anything else?” I asked, studying the cases and boxes.

“Nope, just Zak to reappear and then we have to get to the location.”

As if that was a summoning call, Zak came back from wherever had had wondered off to, sliding his phone into his pocket as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Right, we’re stopping off somewhere before going to the location.” He stated, taking my hand and gesturing that he wanted a private word. “Get the dogs in the car and we’ll be there in a sec.”

I let him lead me away from the hive of activity and kiss my forehead.

“So are we heading to a church then?” I asked. It made sense if we were going to a demonic hotspot to go and get blessed or something similar.

“Yes…and I wanted to make sure Jay was okay with that…after what happened last time.”

“ _Yeah, it’s okay, as long as it doesn’t turn into an exorcism I should be able to stay attached…probably…_ ” Jay answered before I could.

With little else to discuss we all got in the van, which was even more a squeeze with new Jay and the extra canine but nevertheless we were all in and more or less.

The drive to the church was quiet, there wasn’t any joking around, the gravity of just what we were going to be facing was dawning on everyone. It was a small church, pretty standard architecture as churches go; stained glass windows, huge wooden doors, crucifix hanging above the altar, rows of pews.

“Welcome, you must be Zak.” A short man with greying hair greeted us from halfway down the aisle. “I’m Pastor Greg.” He beamed and shook each of our hands.

“Nice to meet you.” Zak replied on our behalf.

“I understand you’re all going to be looking around that abandoned school in a few days?”

“Yes, we’ve heard some dark things reside there and we wanted to know if you’d be willing to bless us in an effort to keep them from harming any of us.”

“Well it’s the Lord’s work after all, I would be more than happy to.”

“I know it sounds weird but would you bless our two dogs too? They’re going to be with us throughout the ordeal.”

“Of course, it’s not that weird actually but I’ll bless them both as well.”

We all had to kneel at the altar and clear our minds, Jay was still with me, his presence strong and comforting.

“We’ll start by saying the Lord’s prayer, then I’ll bless you all individually.” Pastor Greg told us, holding a bible open and making the sign of the cross with his fingers in the air.

‘Our Father in heaven,   
hallowed be your name,   
your kingdom come,   
your will be done   
on earth as it is in heaven.   
Give us today our daily bread.   
Forgive us our debts,   
as we also have forgiven our debtors.   
And lead us not into temptation,   
but deliver us from the evil one.

The silence after that was almost deafening, I heard the pastor muttering to Nick as he anointed his head with holy water. Being in a church always made me feel a little strange, peaceful, but strange nonetheless.

The Pastor moved on to Aaron, then Billy. He got to me and laid his hand gently on my head.

“Father in your name, your son and the Holy spirit, I ask that you keep your child safe from harm. Keep her safe from the evil of that place, surround her in your grace and light as she wanders those hallways.” He whispered, dipping his hand into the cup of water he had and marking my forehead. “Give her the strength to resist temptation from the devil and to carry out your work faithfully. In the name of you, the father, your son Jesus Christ and the Holy spirit. Amen.”

“Amen.” I murmured.

**~*~**

“Okay, I’ll bless your two dogs now.” The pastor announced as he finished blessing Zak. Aaron left and quickly returned with Ringo and Gracie, they both sat obediently as the pastor knelt to their level and both a hand on each head. “Dear Father, protect and bless these beings that breathe, keep all evil from them, and let them sleep in peace. Protect them as you protect your children from the evil of that place. Lord I pray that these beings will act as beacons of hope and safety during their investigation, that they will perform your work and encourage Zak and his crew through whatever trials they cross during their ordeals. In the name of the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

To be it was rather odd to have my dog blessed but clearly whatever was residing in this school was really dark if Zak was going this far to protect all of us. I didn’t bother questioning him.

“Well we’re done now.” Pastor Greg declared, closing the bible. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Actually yes, could you provide us with some Holy water? Just in case something drastic occurs.” Zak asked.

“Of course, I’ll just go and get some for you. You’ve used it before I guess?”

“Yes, in a few investigations. Only under extreme circumstances.”

The pastor nodded approvingly and slowly walked off towards one of the small rooms behind the altar. I walked back out to the van with Billy and the dogs, as soon as we were outside the church I mentally called for Jay.

“ _I’m still here, don’t you worry_.” He chuckled. “ _That was pleasant, we should do that more often. I feel stronger now._ ”

“Are you a self-proclaimed servant of the Lord now or something?” I whispered as I settled Ringo and Gracie down.

“ _I like that idea, I wasn’t very religious in my life but given the circumstances I wouldn’t mind being classed as one._ ”

I rolled my eyes, I was pretty sure there was something about that not being possible, then again half the stuff I’ve seen and experienced is apparently impossible.

It didn’t take long for everyone to squeeze back into the van, Zak had a small box with him which I guessed had the holy water in it. We said nothing until we were about half an hour into our journey.

“So where are we going?” I asked. All I knew about this place was that it was a school and it was being renovated.

“We’re going to a place called Scarsmere College for girls. It opened in 1893 as a hotel actually but was converted into a boarding school in the early 1900s but no-one really knows when.” Zak explained, flicking through a large file on his lap in the front seat. “Closed in 1978 after nearly 80 years of service.”

“So what makes this place so dark then?” I asked.

“70 years of suicides, teen pregnancies, bullying, disease…a lot of bad energy is circulating.” He replied grimly. “Who knows what happened when it was a hotel.”

I nodded. “Do we have any specific stories?”

“A few, but I want our guide to confirm them first before we make assumptions.”

“Is this gonna be another Preston Castle?”

“Possibly.”

I sighed, it was going to take another 45 minutes to drive to this school so I just plugged my earphones into my phone and stared absentmindedly out the window. I didn’t want to participate in any conversations for a while, I wanted to clear my mind before we got to our darkest location yet.

**~*~**

The last ten minutes of the journey consisted of us driving along a poorly maintained dirt road up a hill, bushes and tree branches clung desperately to the van as if we were the first visitors in years.

When we finally came to a stop in front of one of the most eerie structures I’ve ever seen. It must’ve been at least five floors, from the front anyway, all the windows were either blown out or clinging to their glass fragments. The building was made out of stone and wood, chimneys poking out the top of the collapsing roof. Brambles clung to the skeleton structure and blocked out the windows on much of the ground floor and gave the impression that nature was slowly reclaiming her land.

“Creepy as fuck.” I muttered as I stepped out of the van with Ringo in tow. “This place is straight out of a horror film.”

“Tell me about it.” Billy sighed.

“I’m going to admit that I’m a little scared.”

“I wouldn’t blame you.”

We set up the two interview cameras and started the wait for our guide. I decided to get to know the new Jay a bit more and have a small exploration of the building with him and Billy whilst the others waited.

The school was eerier inside, it reminded me a lot of Preston castle and I didn’t like it. We took both dogs with us so they could get used to the surroundings. Billy and Jay joked around, taking in the dishevelled rooms as we wandered the water-damaged ground floor.

Ringo and Gracie both seemed at ease, even when we climbed a creaking staircase to the first floor. However that's when Jay became uneasy.

“ _Luna…don’t go any further…._ ” He murmured. “ _I mean it. All the floors above this are…bad…_ ”

I stopped dead in my tracks. We had been walking down a hallway towards the next staircase but Jay’s tone was enough to strike fear into me.

“Sup Luna?” Billy asked, reigning in Gracie as him and Jay stopped next to me.

“…Jay told me to not go any higher.”

“How come?”

“He said that all the other floors are…bad…” I whimpered, staring down the hallway at a window which was letting light pour in.

“…right…when did he say this?” Billy asked, exchanging glances with Wasley –which I was now referring to him as.

“Just now.”

“ _Seriously. Don’t go up there. You’ll be targeted almost straight away._ ”

“Jay you’re not making any freaking sense.” I snapped. Billy and Wasley just look bewilderedly at each other. “If they’re taking up three floors already what’s stopping them coming down here?”

He went silent. It was eerily silent. The dogs were silent. Billy and Wasley didn’t move or say anything. I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands before turning back to them.

“Sorry…I just get annoyed when he’s vague…” I muttered.

“It’s okay.” Billy replied. “So I guess you’re gonna stay on this floor whilst Jay and I go on up?”

“Yeah…I mean he doesn’t warn me unless it’s serious…so I’ll just explore this floor a bit more before going back to the others…if that’s okay.”

“Yeah, yeah of course.” He smiled. “We’ll take Gracie with us, you wanna take Ringo back?”

I shook my head and handed Ringo’s leash to Wasley. “Nah, he could benefit from a full walkthrough.”

They both nodded, I could tell Billy was reluctant to let me wander alone but there was little point in arguing with me now. They walked down the hallway without a word and round the corner. I was actually alone in this building finally.

A sense of loneliness set in, the surreal feeling of abandonment that this building was left in. Left to decay for so long, for nature to run wild. All the memories left to fade with the paint of the walls.

I sighed quietly. I figured that I’d take some pictures to pass the time, there was something about this place that made me want to remember it. My phone had a pretty decent camera and I was soon snapping away, every room I came across had me captivated, I was certain that Kate would share my enthusiasm once I got back home.

“ _If you go back home._ ” Jay murmured.

“Don’t…just don’t…” I uttered, snapping another photo.

“ _You know you want to stay here…with Zak…with them. Why don’t you?_ ”

“We’ve been over this Jay.” I sighed, moving to another derelict room.

“ _Just sayin’ that’s all._ ”

I rolled my eyes and took more photos. My phone now had about 40 pictures stored and I was about to review them all when a small thud set me on edge.

“Hello?” I called, glancing around to see if there was any sign of life, human or animal. When nothing immediately answered I shrugged it off and decided to just find Zak before the guide arrived.

As I stepped down the creaking stairs I became aware of someone watching me from behind, I glanced over my shoulder and swore I saw a dark figure. When I actually turned around there was no-one there.

“…tell me I was imagining things…”

“ _…uh…no? That would be lying?_ ”

I didn’t look back, I took a deep breath and walked out of the building into Zak’s arms without a word. He held me without a word, knowing I’d tell him in my own time.


	8. Hidden Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have two weeks off college before exam season hits hard :3  
> Things are kicking off now plot-wise so I might take a bit longer to write up chapters just 'cause I really want to get them perfected.
> 
> *My Chemical Romance - Vampires will never hurt you*  
> *Babymetal - Megitsune*

**Hidden Darkness**

Our guide wasn’t very punctual that’s for sure, he was nearly an hour late. In the time that it took him to arrive I had told Zak, Nick and Aaron what had happened, what Jay had said, what I thought I saw. I was quite calm given the situation. So when our guide finally arrived Zak was immediately raring to go.

“Hey guys, how are you?” He asked, extending his hand for each of us to shake. “The name’s Carl.”

“Hey Carl.” Zak answered. “You know pretty much everything about this place right?”

“Heck yeah, been locked up a few times here myself.”

I swallowed, instinctively reaching for Zak’s hand.

“We just had something occur about twenty minutes ago to my girlfriend, um, she saw a dark shadow at the top of the stairs leading to the first floor. Can you tell us if that’s normal?”

Carl looked at the building, deep in thought for a few seconds before sighing. “Yeah, that’ll be one of the suicide victims.” He said sadly.

“What?” Zak asked, a little shocked.

“Suicides happened a lot here, no-one knows how many occurred exactly. The estimation is around…ooh…forty?”

“Forty?!” Nick exclaimed. The cameras were rolling now, Zak was utterly blown away by this information.

“Yeah, most of them were to do with bullying, a few other reasons.”

We were all silent for a few moments. I could now see why Zak was so cautious about this place but I don’t think he even knew what really happened here.

“Uh…okay…well start from the beginning I guess.” Zak sighed.

“Scarsmere College was built in 1890, opened in 1893 as a hotel but it wasn’t very successful. A dame bought it in the early 1900s and turned it into a boarding school for girls, mainly upper-class at the time but they soon opened it up to any girl who could afford the cost of getting here.” Carl explained, glancing at the building every few moments, as if watching for something…or someone.

“At first it was good, but then there were a few issues. A few miles from here was a boy’s school, now teens will be teens and a lot of funny business occurred. Pregnancies, abortions, assaults, bullying. You name it, it probably happened. A lot of the suicides were caused, diseases caught as well.”

Zak was literally speechless.

“There was even a murder or two that were committed. None of these were ever recorded, or if they were…the records are deep in that building somewhere.”

“Mind showing us a few hotspots?” Nick asked, Zak had lost the ability to speak after this load of information was seemingly dumped on him.

“Sure, just to say; the East Wing is off limits. It could collapse pretty much any day now. Under no circumstances are you to go past the red tape.”

We all nodded and followed Carl inside.

“We got two guys wandering around upstairs, oh and we have two dogs with us.” Nick murmured to Carl as we walked to what used to be a large canteen.

“Oh okay, pass along the message about the East Wing okay?”

Nick nodded.

Carl showed us many hotspots, or rather places he’d seen stuff on his nights alone here. He’d been the only person since its closure to spend the night. We had just finished up on the first floor when he approached the staircase, I felt a tug on my wrist from Jay.

“ _No. Don’t follow…please…_ ”

I was stuck as to how to get out of this, thankfully Billy and Wasley happened to show up from their walk around. After a few moments of discussion they decided to just get back to the van and wait for the others. I seized this opportunity to follow them, claiming I was tired and wanted a rest. No-one questioned me.

**~*~**

“You okay Luna?” Wasley asked. “You look perplexed.”

I was going through the photos on my phone, they were pretty awesome, I clearly didn’t give my camera enough credit.

“Yeah…just…some of these photos... they seem a little weird.” I uttered, showing him one in particular that caught my attention.

“Uh-huh…where was this?” He asked, taking the phone from me and studying the image.

“First floor, one of the classrooms in the west wing.”

“I see what you mean about the weirdness…” he murmured. “Let Billy have a look at it, he has more experience with this.”

“I have more experience with what?” Billy asked as he finished letting the dogs run around a little bit.

We showed him the photo, he stood there for a few moments just as perplexed as I was, zooming in and out several times. Finally he spoke.

“Without getting it up on my laptop I can’t say much, but there definitely seemed to be some kind of form in the right hand corner. It’s very faint but if I toggle about with it then you might be able to see it clearly.”

I nodded, I was about to ask him to do just that, however the others returned with our guide. Zak still looked reasonably bewildered, I guessed there was much more to this place than we thought.

We finished up our tour and packed up the van, the journey back to the hotel was quiet…too quiet. Dinner was also a quiet ordeal, tomorrow night we’d be investigating one of the darkest locations and we were hardly talking to each other.

“Is there something bugging you Zak?” I asked as we all sat in the bar in silence. “You went quiet pretty much as soon as the tour started and haven’t said much since.”

He looked at me with cautious eyes, he sighed and took a sip of his drink. “Just some of the stuff that happened there…it’s disturbing.”

“Like what? I didn’t go upstairs with you remember so I don’t know what Carl told you.”

He looked to Nick for assistance but got none. “There was some messed up dark arts stuff going on there…it was just before the school closed down in ’78. Some stories say that it was part of the reason that it closed down.”

I nodded, gesturing for him to continue.

“Ouija boards, satanic rituals, voodoo…these girls…they just went off the rails.” He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“So are you suggesting that there is a possibility that they summoned or trapped something evil in that building?” I asked slowly.

“It’s plausible. I knew that some dark stuff happened which is why I made us all go to the church…but I don’t know what’s in store for us this time.”

I didn’t say anything. This entire conversation reminded me of their investigation of Bobby Mackey’s – the one place Zak refuses to take me because of dark spirits – yet we did have a vague idea of what would be waiting for us…or did we?

**~*~**

Well we were finally about to get locked into Scarsmere College, dusk was falling rapidly. I was nervous, understandably, Ringo and Gracie also seemed to be on edge which didn’t surprise me with this location.

“You okay?” Nick asked me as we brought the final cases into the main lobby of the school.

“Yeah…just a little pre-lockdown nerves I guess.” I murmured.

“ _It’ll be okay._ ” Jay whispered. “ _Just stick to the lower floors…_ ”

I had to find Aaron and Billy who were setting up base in order to give them the last of the equipment they’d need. This place gave me an uneasy feeling as I walked down the west wing to where Billy and Wasley would be sat all night, they would be in a classroom almost completely isolated from the building – only a small corridor connecting it to the west wing – so they wouldn’t contaminate any EVP sessions occurring.

“Alright Luna?” Billy greeted me as I stepped into through the door. I nodded and handed him the last monitor we needed to set up for the lockdown.

“We’re nearly done here, Zak’s just setting up the last static camera on the fourth floor, Jay should be adjusting the one shooting the east wing.” Aaron added.

“So any idea how we’re tackling this location then?” I asked. “Are we splitting up at all?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Billy replied. “It’s all Zak’s choice.”

I sighed, it always was. “Okay, I’ll go and find the dogs.”

The walk back to where Ringo and Gracie has been sat was accompanied by a sense of unease once more. I really didn’t like how this place felt, it was like there was always someone watching you, every time you turn a corner, climb a staircase, walk through a doorway. It always felt like someone was watching, waiting to pounce, like a lion stalking her prey in silence.

“ _It’s pretty creepy here…_ ” Jay whispered. “ _Mind you I’m seeing some of the history replaying itself._ ”

“What?”

“ _Like residual stuff…what’s that analogy Zak uses…tape recordings._ ”

“…what are you seeing?”

“ _Just students wondering around really…nothing dramatic…they can see me, they’re looking at me weirdly._ ”

“You are a guy after all…in an all-girls school…” I remarked. “Can they see me?”

“ _I’m not sure, I don’t really want to interact with them…they might react badly._ ”

I rolled my eyes and just got myself back to the main entrance. Zak and Nick had found each other again and were talking in hushed tones, when they heard me walking towards them they both stopped and watched me walk up to them.

I raised an eyebrow at them but didn’t even bother questioning their discussion. “So what’s happening now then? Aaron’s just about done helping Billy, Jay should be making his way back there…when are we gonna start investigating?” I asked.

“Soon. Nick lost the dogs.” Zak muttered, his gaze flickering from Nick to me and back again.

“You did what?” I asked, my voice a tone lower.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know okay, they were sat by the stairs one minute, I turned away to lock the van properly and when I looked back they had gone. I’ve tried calling them but I haven’t heard them at all.”

I rubbed my eyes, this couldn’t be happening. I turned away from both of them and tried to silence the thoughts of panic screaming through my head.

“Jay. Find them.” I demanded.

“ _Already on it. I’ll be back soon._ ” He replied instantly. I felt him leave my presence, the eerie feeling of the building intensified drastically as he did. Zak put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed lightly.

“It’ll be okay.”

I turned into Zak’s hold, feeling his arms wrap around me, it made me feel slightly better but it wasn’t making me forget that Ringo was lost somewhere in this building. I couldn’t just stand here and wait for Jay to get back, I had to find them.

Zak had gone to tell Billy and Aaron, maybe even look at the static camera setup and see if the cameras picked them up. Nick wouldn’t look me in the eye as we stood there in silence.

I couldn’t take not knowing where my beloved puppy was, I grabbed a flashlight from the table of equipment and one of the cameras out of habit before setting off into the degrading building.

**~*~**

I cursed whatever possessed me to wonder off alone. I had no fucking clue where I was and it was now dark. All I could make out was the dark hallway I had stumbled down, and that was with the flashlight.

“Ringo!” I called. “Gracie?” my voice carried down into the darkness with nothing in reply.

I came across a staircase, something in my mind told me that it was a bad idea to even think about going up it but I ignored it stubbornly. As I set one foot on the aging wood the step gave a loud creak of resentment, I hesitated for a split second before quickly ascending to the next floor.

Cobwebs stretched across doorways, at least I could tell where the dogs _hadn’t_ been. Pieces of the ceiling and walls littered the floor, plaster crunching and iron scraping as I walked over them. The rooms I passed seemed to have been science labs, long tables with sinks and what seemed to be gas pumps. I hoped that the gas had been turned off long ago.

“ _Why are you wondering around up here?_ ” Jay’s voice shattered the silence.

“I have to find them.” I muttered. “I just have to.”

I shone the light down the hallway, it didn’t do much except illuminate the next two doors down. The fear I was feeling was being ignored, adrenaline was keeping me walking through the darkness, the concern for the dogs…

“Did you find them?” I asked Jay.

“ _No…I don’t know where they are…_ ”

“Are you telling me they just disappeared? They have to be in here somewhere…”

“ _I’m telling you, if they’re here then I’ve lost track of them._ ”

I heard the scampering of paws ahead. I pursued them without a thought, nearly tripping over wooden beams as I did so.

The hallways led to the main staircase running through the building, the scampering continued above me. I took the stairs two at a time, ignoring the creaking and splintering of wood beneath me.

“Ringo!” I called. “Gracie!”

The empty classrooms beckoned me, goosebumps broke out across my arms and neck as I ran down hallways in desperation. I spotted one of the static cameras and tried to remember why it was here, there were no cameras on the first two floors.

“ _You idiot._ ” Jay uttered. “ _You’re on the third floor…I told you not to come up here…_ ”

“Well I’m sorry, I just want to find my dog.” I snapped, shining the light around.

Footsteps behind me sent a chill up my spine, I turned around to find Wasley smiling at me, I let out a breath I wasn’t aware I had been holding in.

“You a’right?” he asked, pressing a few buttons on the static camera.

“No, Nick lost the dogs.” I replied.

“I heard. I haven’t seen anyone since Zak disappeared back downstairs.”

“Why are you up here still?”

“Just setting up the static feeds. I got a little distracted by some whispering on the top floor but it was nothing.”

I stared at him. He was being rather calm about this situation. “Well, fancy helping me look for them?”

A perplexed expression cross his face before he shrugged. “Sure.”

**~*~**

Wasley and I continued walking the hallways of the school, I ignored Jay’s muttering as we climbed up to the fourth floor with no signs of either canines. Neither Wasley or I had a radio so communicating with base wasn’t an option and one of us leaving the other was also out of the question.

“Surely we would’ve heard them by now.” I uttered as we finished our scope of the fourth floor.

“There’s one more floor above us, if they’re not up there then the only two places they could be are the basement level or the east wing.”

I nodded, whilst the east wing was technically taped off the two strips of tape wouldn’t stop two dogs if they were intent on getting past. The fifth floor was practically falling apart beneath us, it would’ve been the dormitory floor of the main building – the rest of them being in the east wing – and there were still bed frames in some of the rooms.

“It feels like the floor is going to fall out from under us.” Wasley murmured as we picked our way through a pile of rubble from the collapsing ceiling.

“Please don’t say that…I mean it’s true…but don’t say that.”

He smirked before jumping over the rubble, the floor creaked in protest.

“Jay, don’t.” I stated, cautiously following him down the hallway.

He laughed slightly and jogged down to the next turning, making sure to land heavily on each step.

“Jay seriously stop.” I shouted, feeling the floor shudder with every impact.

“It’s just a bit of harmless fun Luna, calm down.”

How could he be so calm? I was now extremely worried about the sturdiness of the flooring we stood on and he was acting like to was nothing but a walk in the park. We rounded the corner to nearly trip over Gracie’s sleeping body.

“Gracie!” I exclaimed, rushing forward and kneeling next to her. She was calm and there wasn’t a mark on her, no sign of Ringo but at least we had her now.

Wasley and I looked at each other once we had gotten Gracie to actually move, with no indication of where Ringo was nor why they had both wondered off it was beginning to look like we’d have to postpone the investigation until we found him.

After searching the rest of the floor with no luck, we headed back to base with Gracie, my thoughts weren’t focusing on anything other than finding Ringo. When Gracie suddenly bolted forward and I wasn’t expecting it, I let go of the leash and fell face first to the creaking wooden floor.

“You okay?” Wasley asked, catching Gracie and pulling her back to where I was still led on the floor. I had frozen in partial fear as I could hear the floor giving way beneath me, it was very unsettling.

“This floor is getting ready to give.” I muttered, slowly pushing myself up to kneel.

“Really?”

“I hear the wood splintering.”

He gave me a puzzled look.

“I don’t like it up here Jay. We should just get back to base.” I sighed, standing up, I felt the floor move and my blood ran cold.

The next few seconds were a blur, the floor gave a groan of agony before beginning to crack under me. I moved too quickly, a loud snap echoed around me and my left foot sank into the rotting material. As I fell forwards once more my elbows struck the floor, also sinking within a second, my head followed. I felt sharp splinters digging into me as my vision clouded slightly.

“Holy shit.” Jay exclaimed, panic finally being heard in his voice. He muttered a load of curses as he realised that we were alone up here with no way of contacting the others. “Luna can you hear me?”

“Y-Yes…” I uttered.

Gracie padded over and licked my forehead. “Fuck…I don’t know what to do…”

“How about getting me out of the fucking floor Jay.” I snapped.

He hesitated for a moment before cautiously easing my neck and head out from the dent I had made, he then freed my foot as I got myself sitting up properly. I was dazed and really wanted to sleep suddenly, I probably had a concussion.

Once I was freed from the floor I took a long look at it, I wasn’t really surprised I could see that the structure really was rotting away from the inside, the sheer damage to my fall was reasonably impressive; if anyone stepped there then they’d surely fall through the floor completely to the fourth level.

“Right, let’s get back to base. I’m sure Ringo’s fine…if he isn’t we’ll find him eventually.” I muttered, rubbing my head.

“Yeah, plus we need to give you a check over.”

We started to descend through the building, we were about to take the staircase down to the second floor when a harsh whispered shattered the silence.

“ _He told you not to come up here…stupid bitch…_ ”

I looked to Wasley who seemed to have not heard it. I willed myself to forget about it until much later, I was probably suffering from a concussion after all.

 


	9. Markers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for early updates!  
> I even have the chapter after this one written up :3  
> (Don't get too used to this guys, as soon as I go back to college it'll slow down again!)

**Markers**

Aaron had apparently found Ringo near the east wing, at least we had them both now. It didn’t stop Zak nearly dropping the thermal imaging camera when he saw me.

“Are you okay?” He asked, cradling my face in his hands as I winced.

“She fell into the floor.” Wasley reported. “Literally.”

Zak’s eyes widened. “What? How?” I pulled out his grasp as Nick held up a first aid kit and gestured to a chair.

“Gracie pulled her over, she obviously got spooked up there and Luna wasn’t on the ball. She fell over and the rotting wood gave way. There’s now an impressive dent in the floor.”

I sat down to let Nick examine my neck for any wood stuck into me like porcupine needles. His fingers glided over my bruised skin as Zak and Wasley exchanged sharp words.

“Why didn’t you take a radio with you?” Zak snapped. “You should know it’s standard protocol.”

“I’m still learning the ropes dude. I’m sorry but at least I was there to help, she could’ve still been wandering alone up there.”

Zak turned to me. “You went alone?”

I looked up at him through my fuzzy vision. “Yeah. I don’t know what came over me, I just wanted to find them. I went alone.”

A deathly silence fell, Nick finished looking over my wounds and concluded there was no visible damage, I could see he was concerned still. He placed a hand to my forehead and made a small grunt of disapproval.

“She’s burning up. Possibly a concussion.”

“It’s a light headache Nick calm down.” I muttered as he took a box of painkillers from Billy and shoved them into my grasp.

“Well you’ll have no problem taking some of these will you?” he whispered, handing me a bottle of water.

I grunted as I popped the pills out and swallowed them. Ringo sat at my feet staring at me, I stroked him and ruffled his fur as he whimpered slightly.

“Well now that the cameras are actually all set up we could start investigating.” Aaron remarked as we all fell silent. “I mean that’s what we’re here for. There’s nothing to indicate what happened to Luna was an act from the spirits.”

Zak nodded, he gave various orders to get ready for the lockdown. Carl had already locked us in it seemed so we just had to turn out the lights and get going. I was told to stay in base for an hour or so until I felt okay again, despite my protests that I was fine.

**~*~**

**Zak’s P.O.V**

I knew this place was bad. As soon as I heard the dark history I knew this wouldn’t be a straight forward investigation, I didn’t think that Luna would be side-lined at base with a possible concussion before we’d even started though.

“Yo Zak, focus.” Aaron murmured as he pressed a camera into my hands. “We need to focus.”

I nodded despite the darkness surrounding us. “Yeah, okay. Right so where should we start?”

“Third floor?” Nick suggested. “Where the shadow people are seen?”

“Sure, sounds like a good place to start.”

We took ourselves up to the third floor, disused classrooms lined the hallways, staff rooms and storage closets popped up occasionally but the majority of the rooms were classrooms. We had brought Gracie with us, obediently following Aaron who held her leash, rarely making a noise until we passed one particular room.

“Woah dudes wait up, Gracie’s picking up on something.” Aaron called to Nick and I.

The classroom that seemed to be of interest didn’t seem out of the ordinary; rotting wood was strewn around, windows were nothing but empty frames and exposing us to the outside world, yet something was making Gracie uneasy.

“What is it girl?” I whispered as she sniffed the floor.

“I’ll do an EMF sweep.” Nick declared. “I can’t feel anything though.”

Gracie whined slightly and led down on the floor, she didn’t growl or seem particularly stressed. I took an educated guess that there was some low level energy here that she had picked up on.

“EMF’s flat as a board Zak.” Nick reported from the other side of the room.

“Right, let’s try an EVP session.” I declared, clearing my throat before addressing the darkness. “Is there anyone with us here tonight?”

There were no immediate indications of a presence, other than Gracie’s slightly odd behaviour, so I wasn’t too put out by not hearing or sensing anything. Both Nick and Aaron didn’t declare experiencing anything either so we concluded that if Gracie _had_ seen or felt something, that it was gone now.

“Shall we move on?” Aaron asked, the room had been still and silent for a good ten minutes now.

“Yeah, let’s find the hotspot Carl told us about.”

**~*~**

**Luna’s P.O.V**

My headache was subsiding, Billy kept making sure I was drinking enough water just like a very overprotective older brother. Base was quiet; the static cameras were showing empty hallways and classrooms with the exception of the east wing, I was beginning to get bored.

“When can I leave?” I muttered, sounding childish but I wasn’t really one to care.

Billy and Wasley exchanged glances for a few seconds. “When Zak gets back.” Billy finally answered.

I sighed, staring at Ringo as he sat next to me. “And when will that be?”

“Soon, well within the hour unless they find something of interest.”

I sighed again and led down on the floor I was sat on, at least I had a jacket to use as a pillow. “Don’t mind if I get some sleep then?”

Once again, glances exchanged. Wasley got up and brushed a hand against my forehead – checking for a fever – before shrugging. “I guess, I mean you don’t seem to have a temperature so I reckon it’ll be okay.”

Billy nodded, I got comfortable on the floor with Ringo snuggling up to me. I wrapped an arm around his warm soft body and rested my head against his neck.

“ _Why the hell are you sleeping in this of all places?_ ” Jay uttered in the familiar darkness that enveloped me whilst sleeping.

“No reason to stay awake.” I thought to him.

“ _You’re crazy. First I tell you not to go above the second floor, and you did, and now you’re sleeping in the middle of a haunted school whilst and investigation is going on!_ ”

“Nothing’s going to happen.”

“ _That’s a very bad statement and you know it._ ”

I didn’t acknowledge his response and just calmed my thoughts in order to go to sleep.

**~*~**

**Zak’s P.O.V**

“We know that there were some bullies in this school, we know that some of you even killed other students.” I called to the empty room, it would’ve been the library back in the days of it being a school and there were still remnants of that today; bookcases rotting away  on their sides, books degrading day-by-day all over the floor, even an old set of chairs were left here by a stone fireplace.

“Three girls were murdered here in 1922. It is on record that they were each stabbed multiple times in the chest, killing each of them slowly and painfully.”

Nick was monitoring the EMF as I challenged any spirits around, Aaron had Gracie and was using the night vision camera to record us both.

“So, I want you to tell me who is responsible for the deaths of these girls.” I demanded. “We want to bring peace to their families and we can only do that if we know who killed them.”

I paced the room, some of the old school records were strewn around although none were legible.

“The EMF is fluctuating slightly Zak.” Nick said. “Just edging to a two.”

“Odd for a place with no connection to the electric grid.” Aaron murmured.

“If you are present with us now I want you to communicate with us. Speak into this red light I am holding.” I called, holding out the digital recorder and standing still in the middle of the room.

Gracie was still and quiet, hardly a sound left her since we came into this room. As soon as I acknowledged that she started growling, softly at first but she became louder over a few moments.

“Can my dog see you? Is she picking up on your presence?” I asked in a friendly tone rather than an aggressive one.

“EMF’s a solid three Zak.” Nick piped up. “Does Gracie make you feel happy or sad?” He called out.

I felt the hairs on my neck raise, coldness fell in the room and Gracie’s growls became louder.

“She won’t hurt you if she isn’t threatened.” Nick added hastily.

We stayed silent, Gracie’s soft again growls being the only sound we heard, other than the coldness there wasn’t any abnormal feelings felt.

“Please communicate with us, talk to the recorder that Zak’s holding.” Aaron spoke up in the silence. “We don’t want to frighten you, we just want answers.”

I never really gave Aaron enough credit on camera, he was always there to bring a calmer approach to our lockdowns, to wind our necks in when things got heated. I had no idea what I would do without him.

“EMF’s gone down, it’s at 1.5.”

The coldness was still apparent but there were still no other feelings to worry me. I decided now would be the ideal time to leave someone up here for a solo session.

“Say Aaron, how do you fancy doing an EVP session here?” I asked.

“Sure dude, you wanna stay with me Nick?” he replied.

“I was actually gonna ask if it would be okay for me to do one down the hallway?”

It was decided that Aaron would remain in the library whilst Nick would walk along to the classroom Gracie had led us to earlier. I would take Gracie back to base and see if Luna was fit to investigate.

**~*~**

**Luna’s P.O.V**

Sleep is very underrated, the comforting darkness never ceased to calm me down. My head wasn’t hurting anymore which was good and Jay was keeping my mind clear of clutter and intrusive thoughts.

That being said sometimes he falters.

“ _He told you….he told you…_ ” a harsh whisper. _“He told you not to._ ”

I woke myself up with a start, sweat clinging to my forehead. Ringo raised his head in curiosity and stared at me without a sound.

“You a’right?” Billy asked, giving me a puzzled stare.

“Y-Yeah…just…” I uttered.

“What? Did you hear something?”

I shook my head, rubbing my face with my cold hands. “No, just startled myself awake that’s all.”

Billy seemed unconvinced but said nothing, Zak arrived back at base with Gracie shortly after an uncomfortable silence fell. He told us that Nick and Aaron were both doing EVP sessions upstairs so he was going to leave Gracie at base for a while.

“You okay to come help me with the first floor?” He asked me, concern flickering across his face. “Ringo can come with.”

I nodded, getting off the floor and fetching Ringo’s leash. “We gonna have him hooked up to the collar cam?”

“Yeah why not.” Zak replied. “Let me just change the batteries in the camera and fetch the thermal camera.”

I fitted the harness to Ringo that would allow him to carry not only a small webcam on him, but also the option for either a digital recorder or EMF detector to be attached on his shoulders. He was used to the harness now, Gracie was a little more stubborn about it but it wasn’t an issue, it simply meant Ringo was of more use when it came to collecting evidence rather than indicating a presence.

“Ready?” I asked Zak, my headache was almost completely gone now.

“Yeah.”

We left for the first floor, reports of footsteps and shadows littered every room on the floor, there were very few untouched areas. There were two static cameras on the floor, only one was streaming back to base, the other relied on tapes that would be played back later. Before we could start properly looking on the first floor we had to replace the tape in the camera shooting down the main hallway of the west wing.

It was a simple task, normally took less than two minutes. However as we reached the area where the camera was situated a strange feeling lingered in the air. Ringo had an EMF meter strapped to him which almost immediately started showing a high reading once we had reached the doorway to the west wing.

“It’s at a seven right now.” I murmured.

“Seven?” Zak repeated. “You sure?”

I glanced down at Ringo’s back, the glowing screen rarely lies. “Yep. Seven.”

“…okay.” Zak seemed slightly confused, I soon realised why.

“…isn’t the camera supposed to be here?” I asked, panning the handheld camera around in search of it.

“Yes. Aaron’s marker is here.” He confessed, shining the flashlight down, the heavy duty black lighting tape was there and in theory so should’ve the camera. “Document this.”

I moved to capture the x on film, I couldn’t help but wonder where the camera was if it wasn’t here.

“…so who moved the camera?” I whispered, looking at Zak with the feeling that this was only the beginning of what was going to be a long night. “And where is it now?”

“I don’t know.” He replied. “But I want to find out.”


	10. Candlelight

**Candlelight**

“I’m telling you Jay it’s not here. Someone’s moved the damn thing.” Zak barked down the radio at the techs sat in base. “Now rewind the static footage of the other camera and see if you spot or hear anything weird.”

“Yeah okay Zak.” Jay murmured over the radio.

I bit my lip, cameras don’t just get up and move by themselves, they need someone…or something to move them. Whilst Zak waited for Jay and Billy to rewind the footage, I took a closer look around the marker, checking for drag marks or footprints in the dust. There were no indications of anyone coming near the camera.

“Zak?” Billy’s voice shattered the silence.

“Go for Zak.” He replied.

“The static camera shows no odd activity.” He stated. “I repeat; the static camera shows no odd activity.”

We looked at each other in the pale glow of the flashlight that was still focused on the marker. So there was no indication as to where the camera was, who or what had moved it or if it was even still in one piece.

“So what now?” I asked.

“We find that damn camera.”

So we set off on our quest to find the missing camera, to find out why it wasn’t where it had been set up, how it had even moved from its place. Ringo was at ease, I was trying to keep an open mind, maybe there was more than one marker? Maybe we had simply made a mistake?

Zak was determined to find it, which was completely normal. This entire situation was unheard of to us, sure objects move but entire camera setups just disappearing was a little bit over the top.

“Is it possible that the camera has completely moved from this floor?” I sighed, our second lap of the west wing was unsuccessful. “Maybe it’s moved up a floor?”

“You saw there were no drag marks, I wouldn’t say it’s impossible.” Zak mused.

I kept a watchful eye on Ringo’s EMF detector, it would bounce around from 0.5 to two, I wasn’t too worried about it as it was a fairly minor change. After we searched the second floor of the west wing Zak decided to try the central building where Nick and Aaron were doing solo sessions. He radioed ahead to inform them, Nick was adamant that the camera had been placed on its marker as he was the one who set it up.

“Well it’s not there Nick. I don’t know what else to tell you.” Zak huffed down the radio. We were on the ground floor of the central building, stood at the bottom of the stairs as Zak sighed loudly.

“I set it up, I know I put it in the right place.”

“Well go look for yourself then, and keep your camera rolling when you get to where you say you’ve put it.”

I sensed a great deal of tension building, not just between Zak and Nick but within this building.

“ _Yes I feel it too…_ ” Jay whispered. “ _It’s building._ ”

I nodded, tugging Ringo closer to me as we searched the central building. EMF stayed at a steady one all around until we got to the stairs leading to the third floor.

“It just jumped to a five.” I murmured. Zak and I had fallen silent since the heated radio exchange with Nick.

“…the third floor huh…” Zak murmured.

“No.” I stated.

He shot me a look that told me that he was going up and whether I followed was up to me. I knew he wouldn’t force me to go but at the same time he wasn’t going to not go because of me.

“…I…Jay said…” I uttered.

“If you don’t want to go then walk yourself back to base.” He murmured. “I don’t want you doing something you don’t want to but I need to get to the bottom of this.”

I thought for a few seconds, I knew Jay would go mad if I went up there again but there wasn’t anything to suggest that anything wouldhappen if I did.

“Okay. But if anything dramatic happens then I’m going straight back to base.” I finally replied. “Jay won’t like me being up there one bit.”

He gave me a smile and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Okay, that’s fair enough.”

**~*~**

**Nick’s P.O.V**

Aaron and I had met back up after our separate sessions, the missing camera was perplexing, I was certain that I had set it up exactly where Zak had ordered. After we exchanged our experiences from our time alone we took a quick trip back to base, picking up some fresh equipment, and headed up to the fifth floor.

“So what happened up here?” Aaron asked me.

“These were the dormitories.” I replied. “Also where Luna got pulled over by Gracie.”

“Activity wise?”

“This is where all the darker voices are heard. Apparently objects are moved around, furniture and the like.”

“You think the camera is up here?” Aaron joked, although we both knew it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility.

“If it isn’t, I’m going to bet that who…or whatever moved it resides up here.”

We walked slowly past each room, checking for temperature fluctuations and listening for voices. Carl had told us that some of the girls practiced black magic just before the college shut in the late 70’s, he didn’t go into specifics but I could guess that he meant the typical schoolgirl antics occurred.

“You think there are any remains of the stuff they did?” I asked.

“Possibly. If the college was abandoned soon afterwards then it’s possible.” Aaron answered, pausing to look into one of the larger rooms. “You reckon they let anything in?”

I shrugged. “Anything’s possible with the paranormal.”

We eventually found the largest of the dormitories, it would’ve housed six girls, it was here that we were going to do our main session. Aaron set up his camera on one of the bed frames that was rusting away, I had elected to try a small experiment, much like one I conducted in Transylvania.

“Candles Nick?” Aaron asked as I emptied the equipment bag of white candles.

“Yeah bear with me Aaron.” I chuckled, lighting them one by one and placing them around the room, avoiding making any specific patterns or shapes out of caution. I wasn’t stupid enough to start making pentagrams or circles in this place.

“Done?” Aaron asked. “And what exactly is this for?”

“I want you to just film okay? Be my eyes when I blow the candles out.” I said, handing him my camera.

I stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by white candles which gave off an eerie glow. “I’d like to ask anyone who is present to speak with us tonight.” I said, starting the digital recorder rolling. “We’re not here to harm you, or tell you that you’ve done wrong. We just want to talk to you.”

I felt a sense of being watched from the shadows that the candles cast. It was slightly unsettling.

“How many of you are here with us?” I asked, watching one of the candles flicker violently.

“ _..leave._ ” A harsh whisper came from in front of me. I looked to Aaron who shot me a quizzical look. Clearly he hadn’t heard it.

I cleared my throat loudly, one whisper was nothing. “Can one of you please tell us what happened in this room?”

Silence, Aaron kept looking up and then back at the device in his hands.

“What is it Aaron?”

“The temperature was a solid 68 but it just shot down to 53.” He murmured. “But I don’t feel cold.”

I had goosebumps, it was colder over here but I hadn’t really noticed a sharp drop like Aaron was telling me there was.

“So are you making it colder?” I asked, slowly stepping towards two of the candles. When no answer came I blew out two of the candles. The light in the room dimmed without two flames, my skin crawled as the shadows took over.

“Speak to us.” I commanded. “I know you’re here.”

The rest of the candles went out almost immediately after my command. I held my tongue as Aaron made a small gasp, the sudden darkness left me slightly disorientated but I stood my ground surrounded by smoking candles.

“Nick…do you hear that laughter?” Aaron whispered.

“No…where is it coming from?” I whispered back.

“…behind you.”

**~*~**

**Billy’s P.O.V**

“Where do you think the camera’s gone then?” Jay asked me, as if I would know why anything crazy happens.

“Dunno. Reports of object movement seem to be attached to the fifth floor, not the first floor where the camera was meant to be.” I sighed, glancing over the monitor that was showing the cameras on the first two floors. “It’s not beyond the realms of possibility for it to have been taken up there.”

Jay nodded, eagerly watching the other monitor that was showing the third and fourth floors. “So, how would we know when it was moved?”

I shrugged. “Best bet would be if the camera itself caught anything, it should’ve still been recording way past the point when Zak was going to replace the tape. Just in case we’re running late and don’t make it to the camera straight away.” The last monitor showed the fifth floor and the camera shooting the east wing, I glanced at it several times before continuing. “Also we’re relying on one of these cameras to have picked up something, audibly or visually.”

We fell back into silence, adjusting our headphones once more in hopes to hear something as well as see it. It wasn’t long before I heard something.

“…you hear those knocks?” I whispered, isolating that the sounds were coming from the fourth floor hallway. “Channel six.” I uttered, scribbling it down on my notepad.

Jay gave me a puzzled look. “Channel seven, the fourth floor day room.” He murmured. “Scratching, like on a chalkboard.”

I swapped channels, clear as day and chilling to the bone was the sound of nails on a chalkboard. That in itself was impossible as there was no chalkboard in any of the rooms. We looked at each other with wide eyes, there was more than just scratching going on.

“Is that a dragging sound?” I asked. “Something heavy?”

Jay just stared at the monitor in disbelief, there was nothing in that room to be dragged, the door was closed and it was one of the few rooms to have its windows still boarded up. The fact that there was any noise coming from it at all was beyond explanation.

“…what the fuck is happening up there?” I muttered, grabbing the radio. “Yo is there anyone on the fourth floor right now?”

“No Billy, Aaron and I are setting up a session on the fifth floor.” Nick replied. “As far as I know Zak and Luna are on the second floor still looking for the camera.”

“Alright. When you’re done up there come back down to base.” I said. Zak may run most of the lockdown procedure but when we see something on the monitors I have the authority to call everyone back as and when I need to.

“Got it.”

I leaned back and sighed, the noises had stopped in both the hallway and the day room. I made a mental note to ask Zak if I could go and see them both for myself when everyone regrouped.


	11. More questions than answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly early due to the fact I'm going away for the weekend and won't have a lot of time to update!

**More questions than answers**

**Luna's P.O.V**

Zak and I heard Billy and Nick’s exchange just as we finished our check of the third floor, we then chose to go and find out why Billy was asking about the fourth floor. Turns out Nick and Aaron had finished their session upstairs and we met them on the main staircase and we all arrived at base together.

“Alright, so both Jay and I heard some crazy stuff happening on the fourth floor – hence us asking if anyone was there – and well, it’s just unexplainable.” Billy explained. “We got the audio and video from the main feed for you to hear for yourselves.”

We all took it in turns to listen, scratching and dragging sounds came from the fourth floor with no visual activity whatsoever. However the sounds seemed to be coming from all around the camera, it was certainly something else.

“Possibility of wildlife?” Zak asked.

“With those sounds of dragging? I don’t think so.” Nick remarked. “I mean the scratching maybe but not that dragging.”

I replayed the audio, there was no way that any of those sounds were done by animals. The scratching was as if someone scraped a piece of metal against stone, there was just no way that an animal would be able to create that.

“Where were these captured exactly?” Zak asked.

“Fourth floor.” Billy replied. “I want to go up there and see the day room for myself actually.”

“I can stay here at base with Jay if you want to go up with Zak then.” Aaron volunteered. “Kinda want to sit down for a while anyway.”

It was agreed that Aaron would remain at base with Jay and Ringo, Billy and Zak would go and check out the fourth floor, the day room in particular, Nick and I would take Gracie around the second floor, still forever hopeful that the camera would show up.

Unlike Ringo who had spent the majority of his life with Jay around, Gracie was more in tune with general activity. She hated the harness so all we expected of her was a general detector of spirits. That being said, we found ourselves in the nurse’s office after we let her lead us around the entire floor.

Remnants of the nursing that took place were subtle; the patient beds were still there, the mattresses relatively intact, many of the cabinets were empty of instruments although we did find one or two utensils that caused us some confusion.

“…what the fuck…” Nick murmured, pulling a set of medieval-looking tongs out of a drawer.

“Well that’s unsettling…finding these in a school.” I replied, focusing the camera on them. “Give them here.”

Nick took the camera from me and handed me the tongs. He grimaced slightly in the LCD glow. I turned on my flashlight and inspected them a little further.

“Birth forceps.” I declared to the camera. “In a girl’s school.”

“Wait, Carl said there was a boy’s school nearby and that pregnancies would’ve probably happened.”

“Oh yeah, can you imagine how much energy is attached to this room?” I mused, opening and closing the forceps. “To these...things?”

“Fancy doing an EVP session?” Nick suggested, pulling Gracie away from the door, she seemed slightly put-off by this room suddenly.

I nodded and fished the digital recorder out of my pocket. “Nick and Luna in the nurse’s office on the second floor.” I declared to the red light.

“What happened here?” Nick asked.

The room felt odd, most hospitals felt eerie but this was something different, aside from it just being one room rather than a ward. A sense of apprehension hung in the air.

“Can you let us know you’re here?”

I refrained from saying anything, something about this room felt off and I wasn’t comfortable challenging anything. I felt as if we were intruding on something personal.

“Did any girls give birth in this room?” Nick asked. “Are these the beds they lay on?”

Gracie whimpered slightly, I acknowledged her change in attitude but said nothing.

“Luna you try, they might respond to another girl.” Nick’s words brought me out of my doubts over being quiet.

“O-Okay.” I uttered, I cleared my throat, the apprehension was present in my mind and Jay was being really quiet. As I addressed the room I felt as if I should take a friendly approach to hopefully ease the pressure.

“We don’t mean you any harm, or to offend you. We simply want to talk.”

Gracie whined again, I ignored it. The air around me felt a little colder, I sighed heavily.

“Do you mind us being here?”

A sense of dread was creeping in, my arms broke out in goosebumps.

“Is it me or does it feel…bad…in here?” Nick asked me. “Like just suddenly…a sense of dread?”

I nodded. “Are we intruding on something?” I called to the darkness. “Is something happening right now in this room that you don’t want us to see?”

The silence that had been cloaking the room was shattered in that instance by a high pitched scream. Nick and I stared at each other as the silence settled. The apprehension hadn’t lifted, in fact it had gotten worse, more suffocating.

“I’m sorry if we’ve trespassed. Please forgive us.” I said, apologising wasn’t really a done thing but this was a different situation. “Has something tragic happened? Is it happening now?”

Gracie barked and started growling, I felt like we needed to leave but at the same time there was something here and I was done running from activity.

“Please speak to us, let us know if you want us to leave.” I continued, gaining confidence despite the unease.

I felt a small pang on my stomach, or rather just below it. It wasn’t concerning enough to warrant a remark but it was there.

I looked to Nick, I didn’t know what else to ask. “We need you to talk to us or show us you’re here.” He asked.

Dread and apprehension were overwhelming me, as well as this odd pain that was spreading in my lower abdomen. I leaned against one of the beds as I tried to breathe through the pain. Gracie whined loudly, following me to the bed and staring up at me in the glow of the flashlight.

“Who is here with us tonight?” Nick asked, seemingly unaware of Gracie’s odd behaviour.

The pain got worse, I felt like I was being torn apart. “N-Nick…” I muttered. “Nick.”

“What?” he turned around and focused the camera on me, seeing me for the first time in the last few minutes. “Are you okay?”

“No. I’m not okay.” I stated through gritted teeth. “I feel like I’m being torn apart.”

“…like…you’re giving birth?” he suggested.

My eyes widened, my heart skipped a beat. It felt like what I imagined giving birth would be like. Nick had suddenly made sense of everything I had felt.

“Yes…yes it does.”

He smirked a little. “Yeah Roni told me all about that feeling as she cut off the circulation to my hand.” He remarked, breaking his lockdown composure for a second. “Anyway, it’s plausible to assume that you’re feeling the energy that’s preserved here. As you’re a young girl it’s possible that you’re the obvious choice.”

“Choice for what?” I uttered, the pain had subsided but it was still present.

“Communicating. You’ve been the choice before remember.”

I nodded, reluctant to accept that the spirits around us felt that the only way to communicate was to make me feel like I’m giving birth. It was a little bit extreme.

“Plus it’s good practice.” He said.

“You’re not helping.”

“It’s true though.”

“Concentrate on the matter at hand please _Nicholas_.” I remarked, using the full version of his name to convey my annoyance.

“It makes for entertaining audio analysis, but okay.”

**~*~**

**Zak’s P.O.V**

“Well there’s no other explanation then.” I sighed. “It’s unexplained, possibly paranormal.”

“I guess, there’s nothing to be dragged, no traces of animal habitation.” Billy replied.

We had combed the entire dayroom to try and debunk the noises that Jay and Billy had heard earlier. It appeared that there was no other explanation; the windows were boarded up, there were no cracks or holes in the walls, no furniture in the room to be dragged.

“So why this room?” I asked after a few moments of silence.

“Dunno. There are no claims of activity linked to this room especially.”

“I want to have a better look around this floor, I didn’t quite get to look around this one enough.”

We took a leisurely but cautious approach to the fourth floor, there were no claims of activity attached directly to the floor but that meant nothing to us. Even so, we kept the camera and digital recorder rolling as we wondered the silent hallways.

The entire floor seemed inactive, the knocks and scratches hadn’t been repeated since we had been up here. Billy had radioed the guys in base a few times to ask if they had heard anything at all, to which the reply was always ‘no we haven’t’.

Our wandering took us from the central building into the west wing, still with no activity spurring us from the hallways. I was about to suggest we go up to where Nick and Aaron had done an EVP session earlier when we spotted something at the end of the hallway.

“What’s that?” Billy asked, pointing to an out-of-place shadow.

I panned our camera to centre on the shadow, it looked familiar. We quickly approached it and were completely blown away by what we found.

“The camera…” I uttered, looking around for the marker that would’ve been assigned to it. When none was found Billy and I looked to each other for confirmation of what we were both thinking. “There’s no marker…”

“The _missing_ camera.” Billy whispered, reaching for the radio, I held up a hand before he could say anything.

“Who placed this camera here?” I called to the hallway. “And why did you move it from the second floor?”

Silence. There was no change in the atmosphere around us which led me to believe that whoever moved our camera was no longer with it. That didn’t answer why it got moved.

“Answer me.” I demanded. “Why did you move our camera?”

A faint tapping echoed down the hallway we had just walked down. I cast my eyes through the darkness, Billy took the radio out of his pocket.

“Guys, we found the camera on the fourth floor.” He murmured.

“Really?” Aaron seemed just as surprised as we were. “Why was it there?”

“Trust me Aaron if we knew then we’d tell you. There’s something else up here though so we’re gonna check it out.”

Aaron signed off, I had decided to check what footage the camera had taken. For the first half of the footage there was nothing odd or bizarre, the second half however was a little…off.

“What…why is it doing this?” I asked under my breath. The footage kept going in and out of focus, as if the auto focus was turned on – it wasn’t.

“Can you hear anything?” Billy asked.

“No…seems quiet.”

The camera continued to go in and out of focus but I could see that the image was changing as the camera appeared to move. It wasn’t being dragged nor carried which was very strange but without looking at it on a computer I couldn’t conclude much.

The tapping was still going on, irregular beats, occasionally a tap would be more of a thud. I decided that whatever was making that sound needed either debunking or documenting so we set off in pursuit of them.

They sent us on a wild goose chase around the fourth floor; in and out of classrooms, closets, restrooms and up and down the west wing’s hallways. They weren’t stopping but they weren’t escalating either, it was both frustrating and fascinating.

“Where the hell are these noises coming from?” I sighed as we ended up at the main staircase once more.

“I don’t know.” Billy sighed “But this camera is about to run out of tape and battery.”

We decided, against my desire to keep pursuing phantom noises, to collect the missing camera and return to base so that we could further analyse the footage.

**~*~**

“I don’t know what happened to it.” I sighed again as Aaron and Jay looked over the footage on a spare monitor. “You’re gonna have to clean it up in a processor probably.”

“Yeah we’ll look into it when we get back to the hotel.” Aaron replied, pausing the footage.

“Any news from Nick and Luna?” I asked out of curiosity, we were about to start the last phases of our investigation and I wanted to focus on the ground floor with Luna.

“No…I’ll call them down.” Jay said. “Yo Nick, Luna, can you come back to base when convenient please?”

“Yeah sure, we’ll be down in a minute.” Nick replied, he seemed troubled but I guessed we’d find out what had been going on when they returned.

Ringo suddenly became alert, sitting up and sniffing the air before whining loudly. We all looked at him a little bit confused but we put it down to the possibility that he might’ve just seen something but as he wasn’t reacting that badly we didn’t pay him too much attention.

We heard Nick and Luna before we saw them. They were muttering something about a pain before they came through the door; Nick was carrying Luna with Gracie trotting behind them.

“What…” I uttered, slight pang of jealously rippling through me as Nick set my girlfriend down. All of that disappeared instantly when I saw her ease herself to sit down, she seemed in pain.

“Just some…feelings.” She sighed. “Nothing major.”

“You felt like you were giving birth.  I don’t call that ‘nothing major’.” Nick remarked.

“You what?” I asked, concern and confusion clouding my mind.

Luna and Nick took it in turns explaining what had occurred in the nurse’s office, how Luna’s habit of being a magnet of activity became apparent again. It was a plausible explanation, that didn’t mean I was happy about her being in that kind of pain.

“I’m fine Zak, really. As soon as I left the room I felt a lot better, I’m just trying to come to terms with what happened.” She told me, clutching my hand. The others had set about refreshing batteries and tapes ahead of the last hour of investigating.

I stroked her cheek gently, was I really that predictable now? She smiled at me and placed a hand just below her stomach, not in pain but just in a light gesture. I placed my hand next to hers, a brief thought flickered through my mind; the possibility of a future, in more meanings than one.


	12. The end...or is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May be slightly unrealistic but yeah I spent a long ass time writing this chapter out...enjoy :D

**The end...or is it?**

“Right, so Nick and Aaron will go up to the fifth floor in the west wing – I want you to get back in contact with whatever you found earlier, take Ringo with you. Luna and I will explore the ground floor some more with Gracie.” Zak ordered. “Billy and Jay are you both good to watch over base still?”

“Yep, we got your back.” Billy replied.

“Well then, we’ll wrap up at half four then. We have just over an hour left.”

I had recovered from my ordeal in the nurse’s office, I was determined to not let it affect the final hour of our lockdown. Zak wanted to do a sweep with the thermal imaging camera, which meant I had to be his eyes in the darkness as well as keeping an eye on Gracie.

As we started our sweep I already felt slightly uneasy, I brushed it off as some of the feelings from the nurse’s office. Zak wasn’t actually speaking to any spirits that may have been with us, he was literally just doing the average thermal sweep that we did before we started investigating. Gracie walked silently beside me, her leash brushing against my leg with each step letting me know she was there.

“ _It’s quiet down here._ ” Jay murmured in my thoughts. “ _I fear it won’t be for much longer_.”

“What do you mean?” I thought back.

“ _Nick and Aaron are about to stir something up, and it’s not going to be happy about it._ ”

That was a warning, a warning that this lockdown was about to get a lot darker, how dark was still a mystery. Nevertheless I recited the Lord’s prayer in my head in hope that it would protect me from whatever was about to be disturbed.

**~*~**

**Nick’s P.O.V**

“The fifth floor eh Aaron?” I sighed as we finally got to the top of the damn staircase. “Why specifically the west wing though?”

“We stuck to the central building earlier, Zak probably wants to make sure we’re not missing anything.” He replied. “Shall I let Ringo go ahead?”

“Sure.”

We watched the Alsatian trot a little way down the hall from us before freezing in his tracks. He whimpered loudly before darting into a room. I looked at Aaron in confusion before quickly following the dog.

“Ringo?” I called, Luna would kill me if I lost her dog again. “Ringo!”

We had found ourselves in a small passageway, I didn’t realise there were any strange secrets in this place. After following it for a few moments in the darkness we found a spiral staircase leading up to what would be an attic, once again I was unaware that they even _had_ an attic. With little enthusiasm we climbed the stairs, the iron and wood groaning under our combined weight.

The attic was small, dark and smelled damp. Ringo’s whines could be heard so I turned on a flashlight to illuminate the room, Aaron kept his camera on night vision whilst I switched mine to normal, what we saw made my heart jump into my throat.

Candles. Lots of candles. All placed on the floor, if we had taken two more steps forward we would’ve crushed some, they had all been lit at some point and wax had dribbled down in individual paths. There was a small space to walk between these candles, I took a cautious step forward, mindful of the damp smell indicating rotting wood.

With Aaron following closely I walked down the path flanked by candles of multiple colours, they were mainly white or red with the occasional blue or peach thrown in. This room felt worse than the nurse’s room. I felt like we had stumbled into somewhere we really shouldn’t have gone.

“Nick…is that an altar ahead?” Aaron whispered, I could hear the slight pang of fear in his voice.

I looked ahead, having been distracted by the candles, in front of us was a series of wooden boxes stacked in a small pyramid. Black candles decorated the pyramid, each a different height to the one next to it, a chipped bowl sat in the middle of the arrangement; I dreaded to think what would’ve been in there.

“Um. I-I think so Aaron.” I replied, finally getting to the altar. Ringo was sat off to the side, always looking around him, as if he knew something was here. I happened to look up to the ceiling, I wish I hadn’t.

A pentagram had been carved into the wood, weird symbols accompanied it. I looked back at the altar, now I was closer I could see that there were little figurines littering the table, grotesque depictions of the devil.

“We should leave.” Aaron muttered.

I knew he was right, every part of my rational mind told me that Aaron was known as the protector of the group for a reason, that he pulls us out of stupid situations like this. However there was another voice that said otherwise.

“Hold on. Ringo bought us here for a reason.”

“Nick-”

“Quiet.” I commanded. I knew Aaron wouldn’t leave me up here, he’s too good of a friend for that.

I took out the digital recorder and pressed record. I had to handle this very carefully.

“Is there a reason you led us up here?” I asked.

My skin crawled, Ringo growled fiercely at something behind us.

“Are you the reason this school shut down?” I asked, keeping my voice level.

Aaron was not happy, I knew he wasn’t, I felt guilty but I never back down from a lockdown unless lives are in danger.

“Do we anger you by being here? Do you hate us? Are we trespassing? Are you trapping the other spirits here?” I fired all these questions in quick succession, leaving only ten seconds between each one.

Ringo barked and stood between me and the altar, an act of protection from the bizarre set up of candles. This was all I needed to realise that I was probably opening a portal right there and then.

“Okay let’s go.” I murmured. “Thank-you for your time.” I begrudgingly said out loud. Thinking that if I acknowledged that I had intruded on this area and started asking questions without proper manners that it might not be disturbed.

Aaron wanted to go straight back to base, however Zak had ordered us to stay on the fifth floor no matter what, I was going to honour that instruction if nothing else.

**~*~**

**Luna’s P.O.V**

We had been chasing a whispering around the ground floor, I hadn’t actually heard it but Gracie and Zak seem to react strongly to it. I figured that Jay was blocking out as much as possible given his warning. I was simply following Zak’s lead now, watching the thermal imaging screen show the neutral heat signatures of the empty building.

“Can’t you hear it?” Zak asked me yet again.

“No Zak I can’t.” I replied. He was getting rather annoyed that I wasn’t hearing anything. “I’m sorry. I’m not saying they’re not there. I just can’t hear them okay?”

“I’m sorry babe, I’m just…” Zak paused, turning back towards me. “I’ll tell you later.” He sighed.

Gracie barked and went from trotting beside me to tugging harshly on the leash. I fought to keep her under control as she became more aggressive, it was really out of character.

Zak took the thermal camera screen from me, I then took hold of Gracie’s leash with both hands, the material cutting into my skin. My strength was not enough, she tore from my hand and bounded towards the east wing. Our instinct was to chase after her, into the out of bounds part of the building.

“ _Don’t even think about it._ ” Jay hissed. “ _If you follow her into that wing you may never come out._ ”

I was conflicted as Zak ran through the tape after his dog. If it had been Ringo I would’ve pursued him without hesitation, Jay’s tone and prior warning though set my mind on edge. Something made me pull out the EMF reader, I stood by the tape and watched the numbers climb rapidly; three, four, five, six…

“What the fuck…” I whispered.

Seven, eight, nine.

My skin was crawling as if there were bugs beneath the skin within my muscles, my breathing became hitched and unsteady, the pain in my abdomen came back but spread to my chest.

“ _Luna stop don’t go there!_ ” the other voice, the voice from my nightmares. “ _You’ll hurt yourself!_ ”

I was confused, without anyone else to turn to I forced myself to follow Zak’s calls for Gracie into the east wing.

I could see why it was taped off; entire sections of ceiling were coming down in varying stages of decay, doors hung perilously from hinges that had rusted decades ago, wallpaper sagged from the walls and cobwebs clung to everything.

“ _Idiot…_ ” Jay scoffed, he was still with me though so I counted that as a blessing.

The EMF reader was still in my hand; ten, eleven, it was bridging a twelve when I found Zak in a room. I didn’t know the function of this room; it seemed endless. I was willing to bet it was a drama studio or assembly hall or something of that nature as there was a raised section just beyond him. Pillars lined a path through old seats and desks, many were crumbling but a few remained standing – the only reason the entire room hadn’t caved in it seemed.

“Zak?” I called.

“Yeah?” he sounded different.

“You find Gracie?”

“…no…”

“Then why are you here?”

“…I…I don’t know.”

I immediately felt in danger, whenever Zak got vague it was a sign that something or someone was controlling him to some degree. Gracie came sulking in behind me and bumped her nose against my leg once more.

“Zak we should go.” I said, calm but authoritative. “I have Gracie, let’s go and find the others and call it a night.”

He was silent, I couldn’t see very well in the glow of the flashlight but it was enough to see he wasn’t facing me.

“Zak.”

“I want to stay here.”

“Don’t be stupid, come on.”

The mood in the room changed. I felt very claustrophobic and vulnerable but I was trying to keep it together. Zak started slowly wandering away; down the path towards the raised section of the room, I followed at a distance, Gracie keeping extremely close to me.

“Zak, _please_.” I begged. “Can we just go now?”

“No.” his voice was low, raspy and intimidating.

I watched his normally tall, well-kept body sink into the darkness. The EMF started climbing again but rapidly this time; thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. I wasn’t even sure if it was humanly possible to have it go so high so quickly without-

All thoughts were cut short by an eerie chuckle. It echoed around the room, Gracie whimpered and froze with me as I looked around the room.

“ _…I’ll kill him_.” The voice came, I didn’t know if it was from Zak or what, I was terrified. “ _I’ll kill him._ ” The laughter started, it showed no signs of stopping as it filled the room.

I was chilled to the bone, my composure faltered, tears formed in my eyes as I lost my mind. A hand on my shoulder scared me, I turned around; Jay.

He flickered in and out of my sight but his hand was still on my shoulder. He looked terrified too but with a more ‘I know what’s about to happen’ look.

The ceiling began to creak. Not just your ‘old house settling’ creaks, these were unstable building creaks. Plaster and bricks began falling, some closer to me than others.

“ _Trust me._ ” Jay shouted over the laughter and sounds of falling debris. He then pushed me towards one of the still standing pillars, with Gracie sat between my legs, and crouched next to me – still flickering in and out of psychical form. I felt his familiar aura I’d grown accustomed to over the past year surround me and Gracie.

I reached for the radio, miraculously getting through to Billy. “Billy, shit’s gone down you have to get out.” I babbled. “We ended up in the east wing and something weird has gotten Zak and now the ceiling is falling and you just need to get out of the damn building.”

He was understandably confused.

“Billy seriously!” I shouted. The pillars were beginning to crumble. “Billy listen to me for god’s sake!”

A lightbulb went off in my head. God. The Lord’s prayer. Holy water.

“Get the holy water Billy. You need to get the holy water.”

“Luna I don’t understand what you’re-”

“Billy if you don’t do anything I tell you for the rest of your life _please_ just do this for me now. You need the holy water, Zak’s gotten possessed or _something_ and now the east wing is collapsing. Get yourselves _out._ ”

The radio cut out. The laughter had ceased. An eerie feeling filled the room. I didn’t want to move. A loud snap broke the silence, followed by more violent cracks and splintering of wood.

This was it. The entire ceiling was about to fall on us, I had no idea what the hell had taken Zak or where it had taken him but I was about to get crushed by a ceiling and there was next to nothing to stop it.

“ _You’re very optimistic._ ” Jay hissed. “ _Have some faith in me, or if not me have some faith in your God._ ”

A low groan coming from above us indicated the pillar was failing. I closed my eyes and hugged Gracie tightly, I thought back on my eighteen years of life, the last two alone were unforgettable, all thanks to that birthday present Kate gave me.

A piece of plaster hit my arm. I decided murmuring the Lord’s Prayer wouldn’t hurt in these seemingly final moments.

“ _Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven._ ” I whispered, more plaster fell a few inches from my leg. “ _Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil._ ”

Gracie whined pitifully, I think she sensed what was about to happen. I sighed, tears trickling down my cheeks as I tried to muster the words. Jay rested his cold forehead against mine.

“ _I’ll finish it with you_.” He whispered.

I nodded, sniffing loudly as more cracks emanated from above us.

“ _For thine is the kingdom, The power and the glory, For ever and ever._ ” We whispered. “ _Amen._ ”

As if on cue, a loud deafening snap send large chunks down from the ceiling. I didn’t need to see my life ending. I hugged Gracie and let the tears slide down my face. I just wished I could’ve seen Zak one last time.  



	13. I love you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exams are going to be the death of me. Just had an entire week of mocks and now my actual exams are starting in 2 weeks - So apologies if updates are sluggish for a while, kinda need to focus a bit more one college at the moment!
> 
> *Linkin Park - The messenger*

**I love you**

“ _You okay?_ ” Jay’s voice made me open my eyes, I wasn’t in the east wing, I wasn’t anywhere. We were just in a white obelisk, it reminded me of that scene in the last Harry Potter film…the whiteness that stretched on forever.

“I…I guess?” I uttered, looking at my hands, they were cut up pretty badly. “Where are we?”

Jay smiled, he seemed a little bit calmer but there was some worry in his eyes still. “ _We are in a suspended state._ ”

“A what now?”

“ _Limbo. You’re currently lying unconscious under a few pounds of rubble, Gracie too. You’re both alive still_.”

I just stared at him. “And Zak?”

His face fell and he sighed heavily. “ _I don’t know. Whatever got him won’t let me near him. As far as I can tell…he’s still with us…barely_.”

“…how…when will I wake up?”

“ _I don’t know. Billy and the others are on the way…I honestly don’t know though Luna. Regardless, I’ll stay with you whatever happens._ ”

“…even death?”

“ _You need to think more optimistically. Your chances of living outweigh the chances of you dying by a fair margin._ ”

“How is that even possible?”

“ _Because I protected you. There’s a lot that you guys don’t know about us spirits, our capability to protect those we care for, it goes beyond making noises in the night you know._ ”

The whiteness around us was dimming. I was slightly scared, was I dying?

“ _Hear that?_ ” Jay asked.

“ _Luna! Luna oh my god, Luna wake up!_ ” it was Billy’s terrified voice, faint but it was there. “ _Aaron help me get this rubble off her!”_

“ _They’re here. You’ll be fine. I promise Luna._ ”

The whiteness vanished along with Jay, I felt a heaviness being lifted, flashlights pierced the darkness. My vision was blurry but I could make out Billy and Aaron looking down at me.

“She’s awake.” Billy declared, get Gracie out of here so I can get her out.”

A bundle of white and black fur was taken away, a set of eyes looked at me with curiosity. At least she was alive. Billy carefully lifted me out from the rubble, I instinctively curl into his hold, relishing the warmth that signified life.

“Nick have you found Zak yet?” Aaron called as I was placed on the floor by the doorway. Wasley looked over my wounds with a flashlight, he cleaned up the cuts from my arms as best as he could. It was a miracle that I didn’t have any wood embedded in me.

“No not yet.” Nick called back. “Luna where was he when the ceiling collapsed?”

All my emotions came flooding back, Zak was possessed, Zak had wondered off, he wasn’t himself. I had lost him to the darkness.

“I-I…I don’t know!” I shrieked, scaring the shit out of Wasley with my sudden hysteria. “He just disappeared, something had him…I lost…I lost him…”

Wasley pulled me into a hug as I broke down, I sobbed and wailed into his shirt, Ringo trotted over from where he had been helping Nick and placed his head on my knees. I reached out for him, he stood up and licked my face. I broke away from Wasley and just held my dog tightly, wishing that just for one moment that I could rewind the clock and stop Zak running in here.

“I found him!” Aaron called. “He’s unconscious but he has a pulse.”

**~*~**

I must’ve lapsed out of consciousness again. The next thing I knew I was in a hospital cubicle with a line being fed into my hand. Jay was stood next to the bed in the most physical form I’d seen him in.

“Jay?” I whispered, conscious of the fact no-one else could probably see or hear him.

“ _Yeah?_ ”

“What…where…”

“ _You passed out again, Zak’s in surgery and the others are busy trying to figure out how to pay for your hospital bills_.”

I then remembered that this was a tad more serious than I thought. If this had happened in England then the NHS would’ve covered all costs with no issue, however this was America and things were done differently here.

“How much?”

“ _I don’t know. The guys will have you covered, I hope_.”

I groaned, feeling my body protest as I tried to move. “So how bad is Zak?”

“ _Um, I don’t know, he was taken straight to surgery when you both arrived. I don’t particularly want to go and meddle there. Not whilst you’re alone anyway._ ”

I nodded, wishing now more than ever that I had stopped him rushing into the east wing. A knock at the door stopped me dwelling on these thoughts.

“Come in.” I called.

Nick came in, he didn’t look like he had gotten much sleep which begged the question; what time was it? I took note that Jay disappeared pretty sharpish as soon as Nick arrived.

“Hey Luna.” He said quietly, pulling up a chair. “How do you feel?”

“As if a ceiling’s fallen on me, oh wait it has.”

He chuckled slightly, at least his sense of humour was still there. “Good to hear you’re well enough to be sassy.”

“How’s Zak?”

He sighed. “We…we don’t know.”

I eased myself to sit up. “Explain.”

“They pulled him out of the rubble and…he barely had a pulse…his chest had been crushed pretty bad and they were worried about his ribs.” He told me, I could tell he was fighting back tears which in turn made me feel ten times worse. “They found internal bleeding.”

“Bleeding where?”

“…near his heart. They have to operate and do some chest incision to stop the bleeding putting pressure on his lungs and heart, I forgot what they called it.”

My composure broke, I couldn’t prevent the tears, I sobbed loudly into my hands. Jay was silent, Nick put a hand on my shoulder but that was seldom comfort when the man I loved lay under the knife because of my inability to stop him breaking the boundaries.

“H-How long will he be in there?” I managed to ask between hiccups.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry, they just whisked him off without telling us much.”

We sat in silence for a while, Aaron and Billy showed up a few minutes into the deepening silence; both looking worse for wear.

“How you doing?” Billy asked.

“Considering a ceiling fell on me, pretty good.” I murmured. “Heard anything about Zak?”

“We caught one of the theatre assistants a few minutes ago, she said he’s doing well but he’ll be under for a while longer.” Aaron reported. “She said there was this weird comforting energy in the room before hastily adding that the best surgeon in the hospital is in there.”

“Weird comforting energy eh?” I remarked.

Aaron smiled slightly.

“So what exactly is wrong with me then?” I asked, realising I didn’t know why I was in bed.

“Uh they wanted to make sure you didn’t pass out again. You also had some pretty bad bruising and they wanted to make sure you hadn’t fractured anything.” Billy said. “Count yourself lucky that you haven’t got any casts on.”

I sighed. None of this was making me feel any better, I hadn’t even met my doctor. I was glad that I didn’t have a return flight to catch ‘cause at this rate I won’t be leaving this room for a while.

**~*~**

Two hours passed. Two long hours of me staring at the ceiling wondering why I didn’t stop Zak. My doctor paid me a visit, a polite man of age called Dr Powell, he told me what I knew; I had passed out a few times between the college and where I currently lay, I had no serious fractures or bruises and would be discharged tomorrow as long as I didn’t pass out again.

“Anything else I can do for you?” he asked, closing the file.

“Just one.” I replied. “I was brought in with my boyfriend, is he out of surgery yet?”

“Ah, Zak right?”

I nodded, noting Nick’s sudden interest.

“As far as I know he is out of surgery but is now in intensive care, you won’t be able to see him until he’s been moved.”

“Doctor please…I…I haven’t seen him since before the accident, I’m worried…can’t I just see him for a minute?” I pleaded, feeling the tears begin to prick in my eyes.

“Well…I’m not treating him so I don’t know-”

“Just for one minute, that’s all I ask…please doctor…”

He thought for a few seconds. “I’ll go ask his doctor, you might be able to see him a bit later but I’ll go ask anyway.”

“Thank you.”

He left quickly, I sighed. “Where’s Ringo?” I asked Nick who had not moved from beside me.

“Jay’s looking after both the dogs.” He replied. “And going over the evidence to distract himself.”

“He taking it hard then?”

“Not as hard as I am.”

I looked at Nick, really looked at him. He was troubled and was bottling it up again, I reached out and took his hand in mine. “Why Nick? What is troubling you?”

“…just…something Aaron and I found…in the attic.”

“The _attic_? There was an attic?”

He swallowed. “Yeah. We found…we found what we think was a…a satanic altar.” He stuttered.

“A…an altar.” I repeated.

“Yes…candles, pentagram…everything was laid out like Hollywood.” His hand shook as he recounted what he saw. “Aaron begged me to not say or do anything, he told me that it was a bad idea but I didn’t listen.”

I clasped his hand in both of mine, squeezing tightly to bring him to some kind of ease.

“And I asked it questions, I asked it to show itself, to do something. I accused it of being the reason that the college shut down.”

“What’s _it_?”

He stopped shaking, staring at me with wide eyes. “The presence in the room.”

“…you think…you think that _it_ found Zak?” I asked, parts of the investigation fitting together in my mind. “That it brought the ceiling down?”

“It’s plausible.”

We fell into a silence, an uneasy silence. I was relieved when the doctor came back, even more so when he said we could go and see Zak.

The walk to intensive care was short but nerve-wracking. Nick walked beside me with a hand on my shoulder. When we were shown to Zak’s cubicle I nearly broke down. He was barely awake, lidded eyes, clearly the drowsiness still affecting him, two tubes ran from his hand to a fluid pack on a hanger.

I took his hand in mine, his eyes widened slightly but an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose prevented him saying anything. The bed sheets were tucked up under his armpits tightly, I didn’t want to move them in case I saw his operation scars. He looked at me, I couldn’t tell what he was feeling but I could guess.

“I’m okay.” I whispered, pressing my lips to his forehead. “Just a few minor injuries.”

He squeezed my hand, I knew he didn’t have much strength after being under anaesthetic for hours and god only knew how long that thing had been with him before the accident.

“Sorry.” He uttered, it came out muffled because of the mask. “I’m so sorry.”

“Shh…it’s okay.” I replied. “It wasn’t your fault, it was a freak accident.”

As he was about to say something else a nurse came in, he didn’t look too impressed by Nick and I being here but greeted us in a friendly manner anyway.

“Oh hi, I’m one of the nurses who helped operate on Zak.” He said, checking the clipboard at the end of the bed. “And you are?”

“I’m his girlfriend, Luna.” I stated. “We were in the same accident together…”

The nurse looked up. “Oh? You seemed to get away with few injuries…”

“You could say I had some otherworldly help with that…” I murmured with a slight smile. When I glanced at the nurse he seemed slightly puzzled.

“Otherworldly?”

I looked to Nick for assistance, he nodded understandingly.

“We investigate haunted locations, Luna has a habit of picking up presences…she has what you could call a ‘spiritual guardian’.” He explained as my attention focused back on Zak.

“Really? Well…that’s interesting. I’m actually a believer in ghosts myself.” He glanced out the door before walking closer to us. “And between us; I think there was something or someone in theatre with us…”

I smiled, so that’s where Jay went.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if Jay had gone in…” Nick mused. “He has a habit of interfering.”

“Well it made everyone feel a lot more at ease and the operation went really well. Doctors reckon he’ll be okay to leave in a few days.”

I had tuned out the rest of the conversation between Nick and the nurse, instead I kissed Zak’s forehead and stroked his cheek repeatedly. During the hours that I had led in my hospital bed fearing that I had lost everything one thing was made clear to me; I didn’t care about my life back in England, my family was being torn apart, most of my friends had drifted away, I belonged here. I belonged here with the man I loved and the friends who accepted me as their little sister.

The nurse left eventually, Nick said he was going to call the others and tell them that Zak was okay, leaving me and him alone finally.

With a wince he pulled the oxygen mask off slowly, he didn’t say anything instead reaching for my face and guiding our lips together. That kiss felt more important than any other gesture in our relationship, it put us both at ease; we were both okay, we were alive, we were going to get through this together.

“How do you feel?” I asked quietly.

“…eh…sleepy...” he muttered. “My chest hurts like hell.”

“A ceiling _did_ fall on you.” I remarked, he smiled slightly and raised an eyebrow.

“I just want to go home…” he whispered.

“Soon, I’ll stay with you and help you get back to normal.”

“But…England?” he breathed, putting the mask back on quickly as he lost his words.

“I don’t have a return flight, as long as I’m gone by the time my visa runs out it’ll be okay. I’ll e-mail my boss and tell them everything, it’ll be fine…besides, maybe England isn’t where I belong anymore.”

He looked confused.

“I’m just saying, I’m not really achieving much by being there in that toxic atmosphere, heck I’m living on Kate’s couch for god’s sake.” I sighed. “I’d rather live here, with you and the guys.” I reached out for his hand again, he took mine in his and squeezed tightly, smiling as much as the mask would allow.

“You mean the world to me Luna…I love you.” He said, his voice muffled again.

“I love you too.”


	14. Explantions

**Explanations**

 

I was discharged the next morning, the only advice I had been given was to make sure I stayed hydrated to avoid any more fainting. It was of little consolation as I spent the next few days by Zak’s side, the nurses weren’t overly happy with me refusing to leave but they were nice enough about it.

Eventually, after nearly a week of constant check-ups and tests, Zak was discharged from hospital under strict instruction to get rest and eat healthily. So we got on a plane, despite the doctors advising against it, and we were in Vegas five hours later. Nick said he wanted some time with his family in light of what had happened, that he would check up on us in a few days.

Billy and Aaron made sure that Zak and I were safely in his home before going home themselves, I was once again told that if we needed anything at all then they were both only a call away, it was getting slightly tiresome being told the same thing over and over again.

When I finally closed the front door I sighed heavily. The renovations that had been half done last year had been completed, the master bedroom would’ve have been upstairs but apparently there was a unfriendly spirit up there during renovation and Zak wasn’t overly enthusiastic about sleeping up there. So instead the guest room and storage was upstairs and the master bedroom downstairs, which was a blessing as Zak was told strictly to take it easy and climbing stairs didn’t fall into that category apparently.

Gracie and Ringo seemed content on the couch, I made sure they had food and water available. I found Zak already led in bed, with one final check on the dogs and the locks being in place I quietly joined him.

He wrapped an arm around me and kissed my forehead, wincing slightly. I was cautious not to cause him to move too much so we just led there in silence, enjoying each other’s company.  Jetlag began to set in and tugged me into the depths of sleep.

**~*~**

Zak was regaining his strength quickly, the first two or three days he mostly stayed in bed or on the couch sleeping or reading but he started venturing out into the garden with both the dogs. I kept an eye on him as I kept the house clean and handled the meals we both ate, I didn’t mind much, it was a preview of what I hoped my future with him would be like, only with more caution when Ringo jumped up excitedly at his chest.

“Steady boy.” Zak chuckled as the Alsatian reared up onto his hind legs. “Go get the ball.”

He barked and trotted off with Gracie at his heels. I walked out onto the decking with him as the two dogs scampered around in the plants after the ball.

“Alright?” I asked.

“Yeah, Ringo seems to have bounced back from the lockdown pretty well. Gracie’s a little bit reserved still…a miracle she wasn’t harmed when the ceiling collapsed.” He replied, taking my hand in his.

“You have Jay to thank for that.”

He kissed my forehead. “I have him to thank that you’re unscathed too.”

“And for you coming through the surgery better than the surgeons expected.”

He smirked, Gracie bounded back to us with ball in mouth and Ringo yipping behind her. “Jay needs more credit.”

**~*~**

Whilst Zak was in the shower the next morning I got a call from Billy, the evidence had been analysed and was ready for us to all sit down and go through it, even the footage from the missing camera. Something in his tone set me on edge, I could tell that they had caught something that was linked to Nick and Aaron’s discovery in the attic and possibly to the ceiling collapsing.

I passed the message along to Zak and arrangements were made for everyone to meet at the office to look through it all. Nick flew in the next day and we were all gathered in the office with cups of coffee and pizza as Billy hooked up the big monitor to show us the gathered footage.

“Right, so we’re going to go room by room, I’ll let you know if anything happens in two places at once.” He stated. “First we have Zak, Nick and Aaron in the library on the third floor.”

Wasley brought up the sound files that were going to be played through the speakers.

“So there were three clear EVPS captured, as in class A.”

He played each of them one after another, they seemed to be intelligent spirits reacting to the presence of the guys; screaming ‘go away’ and ‘leave’ but the more intriguing one was in response to Gracie being in the room and growling loudly.

“ _Take her away!_ ” the EVP stated.

“Oh wow…that’s interesting.” Zak commented.

Billy nodded. “As far as video is concerned we didn’t get anything there. Moving on, Aaron did a solo EVP session.”

Three more sound files appeared on screen.

“I heard one of them myself actually.” Aaron interrupted.

“Yeah we heard you acknowledging it.” Wasley replied, starting the file.

“ _…help…_ ” a pitiful whimper came through followed by Aaron’s confused questioning.

“Then it gets a little dark.” Billy said as the file stopped. “Did you feel any darker presences with you Aaron?”

The bearded one shook his head, looking slightly worried. Wasley played the second clip, scratching could be faintly heard, much like that of the fourth floor. It was replayed several times until Zak held up his hand to tell them to move on.

“ _…leave…alone…_ ” a low whisper came through, accompanied by scratching. It sent chills down my spine.

We didn’t dwell too long on the whisper as we had a lot to get through. Nick’s solo EVP session only yielded inaudible mutters and thuds. We took a short break to outline what we had and what would be put into the final cut of the episode, Billy and Wasley seemed anxious to continue quickly.

“Right so Aaron and Nick, you both went up to the fifth floor and did an experiment of some kind I believe?”

“Yeah I put out a load of candles to try and spur some intelligent activity.” Nick explained. “It seemed to stir something up.”

“Yeah it did.” Wasley replied, bringing up five sound files. “It certainly encouraged someone to come forward.”

Whispers with no audible words or phrases came through over Nick’s questions, the video was coupled with the sound file so we saw that Nick wasn’t reacting. A muffled scream pierced the silence and Nick didn’t react to that either, it did unnerve everyone though.

“ _leave._ ” A low gravelly voice commanded, causing everyone to exchange glances with each other.

The video continued, Nick walked over to two of the candles and blew them out. On cue there were a series of high pitched giggles, at first there was nothing showing up on the video as suspicious but Aaron seemed to notice something.

“Woah hold up.” He said. “Did you see that?”

No-one seemed to know what he was talking about.

“Just as Nick stands back in the middle of candles, there seems to be something behind him.”

“Wait didn’t you say you heard something from behind me?” Nick suddenly asked, eyes widened slightly.

“Yeah just as the candles all went out unexpectedly.”

After a few seconds of silence Wasley had managed to isolate the part of the video that Aaron was talking about. There did seem to be a discolouration behind Nick; a different shade of darkness, it was slightly lighter almost like fog or mist.

“…what is that?” Zak asked. “Like _what_ is it?”

No-one said anything, I had no clue what it was and it seemed that everyone else was either as clueless as I was or reluctant to state what appeared to be the obvious.

“Dust, possibly a trick of the candlelight, shadows.” Nick listed off. “There are many things it could be.”

“You have to admit it is kinda freaky considering what happened after that.” Aaron sighed. “The candles all going out and then me hearing the laughter.”

A few minutes went by as we watched the video over and over, eventually Billy decided we needed to move on. We watched the footage from the fourth floor complete with scratching and the thuds, nothing we didn’t already know.

“So Nick and Luna ended up in the nurse’s office, you caught some interesting EVPs during your time there.” Billy declared, crossing something out on his notepad.

“I should bloody well hope so, I got used as a communication device.” I remarked, getting a small laugh out of them all. “Hey none of you guys will ever experience the pain that a woman goes through in labour.”

“And you will?” Nick said with a raised eyebrow.

“I was closer than you were on that night. I might experience the full thing one day.”

“Anyway, what did we capture?” Nick asked Billy, I caught Zak’s wistful glance and small smile.

Wasley bought up four sound files, the first was general muttering, we couldn’t pick out any words though. The second was more understandable as a muffled scream, the third a more pronounced scream which made us all exchange glances once more. The last file however nearly made me fall out of my chair.

It was coupled with Nick’s footage and it was at the point where I was in pain and leaning against the bed.

_“I feel like I’m being torn apart._ ” I heard myself say.

_“…like…you’re giving birth?_ ” Nick replied.

“ _…the baby!_ ” A female shriek came through and caused everyone’s eyes to widen.

“What.” I uttered.

It was played repeatedly, each time becoming clearer and sending an odd feeling through me. Something about the entire experience caused me to feel slightly strange.

“Okay…” Zak eventually sighed. “So what’s next?”

Billy looked slightly thrown-off by the lack of comments but flipped his notepad over to the next page. “So Zak when we found the camera on the fourth floor we heard those thuds right?”

“And we went around on a wild goose chase?”

“Mmhmm. Well we analysed the audio and found that after each time we acknowledged the thuds there was a high pitched giggle.”

The speakers once again emitted the sound of giggling, it made my skin crawl once again. A video link was thrown up of an empty corridor.

“This is the link from the missing camera.” Billy announced, gaining everyone’s attention. “Now it distorts quite heavily and we’ve cleaned it up a bit but it’s still unclear as to what happened to it. Oh and the audio is very distorted so just a warning.”

Wasley pressed play and we watched in silence, the minutes felt like hours until there was the sound of creaking wood. At first it was just the odd creak as if the wind was causing it or the building was settling, however after a few moments they began to get louder and closer and it became clear they were footsteps. Nothing showed up on the video but the camera did seem to go in and out of focus rapidly which was odd as it was on auto focus so for it to shift drastically would mean there was something in the frame.

The creaking had stopped whilst the camera’s focus changed but was soon replaced by a very faint muttering, female muttering but not clear enough to pick out any words. The camera then shook violently and shifted and pointed into one of the classrooms.

No-one said anything, all eyes glued to the screen as we waited.

The muttering continued, hardly even audible, the auto-focus was still shifting rapidly and now the brightness of the picture was adjusting by itself it seemed.

“What is that camera doing?” Aaron asked incredulously. “The auto functions are going crazy.”

Nick nodded in agreement but said nothing, we watched the picture shake violently again before what appeared to be a hand covered the lens; causing the screen to go black. The creaking returned as did the muttering, this time the muttering seemed more panicked and we could actually hear the odd word in between creaks and silence.

“ _…heavy…weird…_ ” it was a female voice, she sounded young so I immediately thought of a student. “ _…fourth_.”

Wasley paused the video to let us gather our thoughts. I was thankful that he did as both Nick and Zak seemed ready to go off on a long tangent about different theories.

“So…thoughts?” Billy asked carefully.

“Well it seems that someone’s picked the camera up, a girl by the sound of it.” Nick replied.

“Intelligent haunting that’s for sure.” Zak murmured.

Billy nodded to Wasley who pressed play. The screen was still dark but there were clear footsteps heard, heavy breathing accompanying it. The footsteps continued, it seemed like hours before something else was captured.

A giggle, the footsteps ceased, the sound of the tripod’s feet hitting the floor followed by the darkness lifting. A green tint that was the night vision filter was all we could see, the auto focus quickly showed us the empty fourth floor corridor. Giggles and footsteps resonated around the camera, making it seem that a group of spirits were around.

Everything went quiet suddenly, the silence continued right up until Zak came walking down the corridor and into focus. Wasley stopped the footage and we remained in silence ourselves.

“…theories?” I asked, unsure of what I had just seen.

“Student who’s curious about the camera?” Nick suggested.

“And decided to take it to the fourth floor?” Aaron added.

It seemed too textbook for my liking, how it was almost perfect evidence of spiritual activity, it happened very rarely, it was probably just the one in a million chance of us catching such compelling evidence…

Silence fell for a considerable amount of time, I was beginning to think that nothing else was captured until Wasley changed what was displayed on the screen.

“Nearly done, we get into the darker stuff now leading up to…the ceiling collapsing.” Billy muttered. “So Nick and Aaron discovered an attic room…and well…I’ll just let you see for yourselves what they found.”

The first thing I noted about the footage we were watching was the darkness, the second was how guarded both Nick and Aaron were as the night vision filter gave us a decent picture of the attic; candles everywhere – none of them lit of course -  and I saw Ringo sat ahead of them at a bizarre set up of boxes.

As Nick fired questions into the room the audio spiked like crazy. Malicious growls became the backing track to the entire session before finally a word was uttered; “ _…leave._ ” Other than that there was nothing else to report on until they were just about to leave the room, a chilling voice called after them.

“ _…I’ll kill him_.”

Everyone was dumbfounded. I felt like crying, Nick seemed to be right when he said he stirred something up but what was more unsettling was how Jay knew this was going to happen too.

“…so…that…” Zak murmured, putting pieces together slowly. “That was the thing…”

Nick nodded, not looking directly at anyone, still beating himself up about it all clearly.

No-one said anything else, we just sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity as everyone processed what was said, felt and happened as a result of this investigation.

**~*~**

I was still mulling over what was caught in that attic as I led in bed with Zak and staring at the ceiling, he was able to move a bit more freely now but still had to be cautious of the pressure he but on his wounds.

“You okay?” he asked quietly. “You seem quiet.”

“I’m just thinking about how I should’ve stopped you going down that east wing.”

He stroked my cheek gently, his fingers ghosting over my jawline. “You couldn’t of done anything…don’t beat yourself up about it sweetheart.” He replied. “I wasn’t myself in that moment and wouldn’t have listened to you if you had said anything.”

“Mmm…I still feel bad…” I whispered, rolling over to face him. “Also there was something else I need to tell you.”

He remained quiet, waiting for me to continue, linking our fingers together as a sign of encouragement.

“Well just before I followed you into the east wing Jay protested like hell but there was another voice…it’s the same voice in my dreams…it’s actually speaking to me Zak.”

“..what did it say?”

“It said ‘Luna stop don’t go there. You’ll hurt yourself.’” I told him.

“Do you have any idea who or what it is?”

I shook my head. I was honestly scared, it didn’t give off the same comforting aura that Jay did, it rarely gave off anything outside of my nightmares but when it did it was only apprehension and fear.

He thought for a few moments. “Okay…how would you feel about going to see a psychic?”

I shrugged against the pillow. “I don’t know. I guess I’m up for anything after these two years.”

He smiled slightly. “I’ll make a few calls in the morning then, maybe there’s something more going on with this other voice that we don’t know about.” He kissed my forehead. “Now we should probably sleep.”

I curled into his hold, enjoying the feeling of being safe and sound with him. My life in England seemed an eternity away and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible.

 


	15. The truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had one hell of a week in college and now I've caught a throat infection so apologies if any updates after this are late, I also have to deal with two exams next week as well as most of my friends leaving college for good...so yeah...such is life.  
> Thank-you for all your kind words regarding this story and your kind words about my uncle, sadly we don't think he'll survive this summer unless God grants us a miracle - as far as I know he's doing 'okay' whatever that means...
> 
> Songs for this chapter:  
> *You should’ve lied – Stephanie McIntosh*  
> *It’s all coming back to me now – Meat Loaf*

 

**The Truth**

Zak called a psychic the next morning, I was a little nervous about the entire thing, I wasn’t sure what they’d find out. Jay was also a little apprehensive about it, he scoffed at the idea but didn’t say anything else on the matter until we were stood outside a house in the suburbs of Las Vegas.

“ _You sure about this?_ ” he whispered as Zak knocked on the pale blue door.

“Yes.” I sighed quietly.

The door opened, I was expecting an elderly woman dressed in bright and exotic clothing – you know, you’re typical psychic – instead it was a short young man dressed in rather normal clothing; black button up shirt and fading blue jeans.

“Hey Zak.” He greeted with a smile and extended his hand.

“Hey Alex.” Zak replied, shaking his hand. “This is my girlfriend Luna.” He added.

Alex looked to me and smiled. “Hey there, I take it you’re the one I’m doing a reading on today?”

I nodded, conscious of Jay’s slight irritation.

Alex invited us in, it was a very normal house at first glance, although a detailed look at the numerous bookcases gave away his profession. I was invited to sit at a small table in the middle of his lounge, Zak sat down on one of the cream coloured couches and Alex sat across the table from me.

“Right, so tell me what’s going on Luna.” He asked, his tone was calm and comforting and he watched me attentively as I recounted everything about Jay and the other voice, the accident and pretty much anything else I thought was important.

He nodded when I had finished, staying silent for a few seconds before holding out his hands for me to take. My hands were shaking as I lightly grasped his, Jay still wasn’t happy about this situation.

“Breathe slowly.” He told me quietly as he closed his eyes. “Relax and respond to any questions I ask you, if you feel uncomfortable in any way we can stop. It’s all up to you how much you let me know.”

I nodded, willing my mind to relax. The room was silent for a while, I waited patiently for Alex to say something.

“Well I can feel Jay’s apprehension.” He finally said. “I don’t blame him really.”

I smiled uneasily, Jay wasn’t making this simple for us.

“Ah…now I’m seeing something…” Alex’s grip on my hands tightened slightly. “There’s another spirit with you…”

My pulse quickened as I waited for him to continue.

“…it’s not malicious…it’s an old friend…someone close to you…”

I tried to think of anyone I knew who had died, as far as I could remember there was only my grandfather who passed away when I was six but I wasn’t that close to him.

“…you don’t remember them do you? Not consciously anyway?”

“No…I don’t…that’s one of the things they said first to me; ‘do you remember?’” I replied.

“Interesting.” Alex murmured, he was concentrating hard, squeezing my hands firmly as he bit his lip. “You’ve supressed the memory of this person.”

He suddenly opened his eyes. I must’ve looked panicked as he smiled gently and gave my hands a reassuring shake.

“Do you have any siblings?”

The question caught me off guard. “No…I’m told I was an only child.”

“…you seem unsure?”

“Well I have very vague memories of a girl, maybe a cousin or something.” I murmured, I was pretty sure I didn’t have a sister, however the few memories of this girl prompted many questions.

Alex looked to Zak before sighing heavily. “Luna…I’m not sure how to tell you this…but I think you had a sister.”

“ _Had_ a sister?” I repeated.

“…without digging a little deeper I can’t be sure but she’s with you whoever she is, I’m pretty sure there’s a family connection.”

I pulled my hands away from him. “I…I just need a moment…” I murmured.

He nodded understandingly and excused himself from the room, I moved to sit next to Zak  who hugged me tightly. My thoughts were rushing, if I had a sister why didn’t my parents tell me? What had happened to her? Why could I remember her? Why was this all just being revealed to me now?

“…I don’t get it.” I finally said. “Why wasn’t I told?”

“Maybe your parents wanted to protect you? Maybe there is more to this then you think?” Zak replied.

“Why wouldn’t they tell me now? I get that they didn’t want to tell me when I was young but I’m 18 now, surely I have a right to know if I had a sister.”

He pressed his lips to my temple, squeezing me tightly as we sat there in silence. I was hesitant about continuing but at the same time I wanted to know more, considering my parents had kept from me for so long I felt like this was the only way I’d find out anything, besides if it put my mind at ease then was there really a bad side to this?

When Alex came back I told him I wanted him to find out everything he could about this supposed sister of mine, that he was to keep nothing from me even if it was disturbing. Heck after the stuff I’ve seen and heard there was little to disturb me further.

He took my hands in his, this time placing my hands together as if I was praying with his covering mine and closed his eyes. I waited.

“Okay.” Alex murmured. “I understand. I’ll tell her then.”

I bit my lip, he sounded sad and reluctant to let go of my hands. He opened his eyes and stared at me.

“She died when you were six.” He stated. “She was eight. She died…died saving you.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “H-How…”

He sighed heavily, composing himself. “Behind your home there were ranks of old garages correct?”

I nodded, they were eventually torn down in order for the land to be rebuilt on.

“You used to play on their roofs when you were both allowed out. You were both adventurous and although your parents told you not to you still did. One day you were both on the roof and it started giving way. She called out to you to get away from the cracks but you didn’t hear her.”

Fragments of that day were slowly coming back. The sound of the roof creaking dangerously beneath me, my sister’s voice, her hand grasping my wrist and then nothing.

“You both fell through the roof into the room below, you survived because you fell onto a pile of oily rags, she hit the car that was in the garage and died from her injuries.”

It then all flooded back to me. Seeing her in hospital in her final moments, my parents crying, I was too young to understand what was fully going on.

“Your parents then just blocked out her memory, they didn’t want you to feel guilty.” Alex continued. “But your sister has been following you around for a while now, unlike Jay she’s actually aged.”

“The voice I heard in the college…when I was about to follow Zak into the east wing…” I uttered. “Was her?”

Alex nodded. “She knew the ceiling was unstable and she didn’t want you to be hurt again. The circumstances triggering her reaction.”

I pulled my hands from Alex’s and covered my face. Tears refused to fall, I was still in shock to a certain extent, processing that I had partly caused my sister’s death when I was so young and that my parents had kept it from me all these years.

“What…what was her name?” I asked quietly.

“Claire.”

“And she’s still with me?”

“Yeah, she’s here. Now that you’ve remembered it all she should be on the same plain as Jay.”

“Can you see her Jay?” I asked.

“ _…yeah…yeah I can_.” He murmured. “ _She’s crying, she’s happy you finally know the truth._ ”

I nodded. Still wrapping my head around everything. I wanted to sleep so badly right now, I felt drained.

“Is that all then?” I asked Alex.

“I believe so, I mean she should be able to tell you the rest.”

I looked to Zak, he seemed slightly blown away by everything but smiled all the same, stroking my cheek gently.

“I want to go home.” I murmured to him. “Take me home please Zak.”

“Okay sweetheart.” He replied.

**~*~**

It was weird having my sister around. I was used to Jay’s presence but hers, not so much. Especially thinking about how much she’d seen of my life without me realising it, the locations, the spirits…Zak.

My cheeks flushed red in the bathroom mirror as I thought about the possibility she’d seen Zak and I during our nights alone.

“ _Don’t worry about it sis, I left that well alone._ ” a feminine voice remarked. “ _Don’t sweat it._ ”

I smiled, my cheeks still pink. “Okay, how much have you seen though?”

“ _A fair bit, I’m not exactly over the moon about your boyfriend’s job but at least you’re doing something you enjoy._ ”

“…I’m sorry…about what happened…”

“ _Don’t worry, I’m just happy that you’re okay, that you’re out here enjoying your life. I’d rather it be you than me._ ” She said. “ _Besides, I’m getting to know this Jay dude whilst I’m here. He’s pretty awesome._ ”

“Yeah…he has an attitude problem some mornings though.”

“ _I do not._ ” Jay butted in.

I laughed and left the bathroom, Zak was barely awake on top of the bed sheets but sat up slightly when I crawled up next to him.

“You okay?” he asked sleepily.

“Yeah…Jay and Claire are getting to know each other…meaning we’ll be in peace for a while.”

He smiled and kissed me, gently at first but soon with more force. I cupped his face with my hands and bit his lip lightly, his hands found my waist and coaxed me to straddle him. I was cautious to not press against his chest too harshly but found myself unable to stop myself. This was the first time we had been so psychical since his operation and Jay was preoccupied so I wasn’t about to pass this up.

“Mmm…I love you so much.” Zak whispered as we parted briefly.

“I love you too.” I replied, pressing my forehead against his. “I’ve missed our nights like this.”

“Same here.” He murmured, pressing himself against me and holding my waist in place. I bit my lip and pressed down on him, causing a quiet breathless moan to escape his lips. With a quick peck on the lips I did it again and made him moan, I relished seeing him like this; losing his composure just by me touching him. It was a side to him that few people saw and the cameras saw even less of.

“I love it when you’re like this.” I whispered in his ear, he sighed in response, a smirk playing his lips as I nipped at his ear lobe.

“You tease.” He breathed. “Doing this to me when I’m not supposed to move too much.”

“Ah well, you love it really.” I remarked, pressing down on him again.

“And I love you.”

I giggled, deciding we’d done enough talking and kissed him intensely. His tongue slipped against mine as his grip on my waist loosened, I felt his hands running up and down my back, pulling breathless moans from me. As we kept kissing I let my hands drift down to his waist, my fingers found his belt buckle and clumsily undid it, our kisses becoming messier as our concentration was lost.

“You little minx.” He sighed into my neck, lightly biting on skin and causing me to lose all train of thought for a few seconds.

“You’re one to talk.” I whispered in reply, finally getting his jeans undone. “How many times did you leave me breathless and eager for your touch?”

“I dunno…you tell me.” He remarked, wiggling out of his jeans and raising an eyebrow at me.

“Too many.”

He laughed, I couldn’t help laughing with him. “So if you can’t move that much…how are we going to take advantage of this rare moment of peace?” I asked when we fell silent.

His eyes roved my body, his hands gently ghosting over my chest. “…I guess you could do all the work if you know what I mean.” He remarked, raising an eyebrow.

I kissed his forehead. “If that’s what you want then, I suppose I can make that happen. You have been following doctor’s orders so far, I guess we can bend the rules slightly for one night.”

“And this is one the many qualities I love about you, your rebellious streak.” He whispered, pulling me close to his chest.

“Hmm…shh baby.” I murmured. “You talk too much sometimes.”


	16. Another vacation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *She’s always a woman to me – Billy Joel*

**Another vacation**

 

**~ 2 weeks later ~**

Zak’s condition had improved greatly in two weeks, his doctor was impressed if a little perplexed as to how he had recovered so quickly, nevertheless he said that Zak’s health had improved enough for him to be able to travel freely but still exercise caution when came to physical activity.

We were sitting in his yard when he first mentioned it to me. “We need a vacation.” He muttered, ruffling Gracie’s fur as she panted in the afternoon sunlight.

“How so?” I replied, continuing my tug of war with Ringo.

“All of us, I was thinking California, it’s a relatively short drive and I know some nice places we could visit.”

“What do you mean by ‘us’?”

“You, me, Aaron, Billy, Jay and Nick.” He smiled. “And of course these two.” He added, scratching Gracie’s ear.

I thought about it, sure it sounded great but I was still a little paranoid about Zak’s health. “How long for?”

“Only a week.”

I let Ringo tug away from me and scamper away into the bushes, Gracie followed him leaving Zak and I to watch them playfully fight over the toy.

“Yeah why not?” I finally said. “I think you’re right; we all need a proper vacation, and by that I mean _no lockdowns._ ”

Zak chuckled at the emphasis on the last part. “Yeah don’t worry, I think after that last place we’re all good for creepy buildings and dark history…for a while at least…” he smiled.

I returned the smile. He called the rest of the guys and they all sounded excited to meet up and have a proper vacation, Nick put the idea forward of Roni and Annabelle joining us which was accepted quickly.

So a few days later we had driven six hours to Morro Bay in California, 95 miles south of Big Sur. Nick and his family had flown in and already checked into the hotel we’d all be staying at. When I first saw the hotel I had to pinch myself to assure that I wasn’t dreaming; it was a simple but beautiful two story building, white wood panelling and fences were all I could see as Ringo tugged on his leash and begged for my attention.

The hotel was right on the waterfront of the bay, the water lapping at the jetty attached to the outdoor eating area, the sun reflected off the surface like millions of diamonds floating in from the ocean. As Zak checked us in a familiar little girl came running up to me with a big smile on her face.

“Luna!” she cried, hugging my legs.

“Hey Annabelle!” I replied, ruffling her hair, I looked up to see Nick and Roni now with us, Annabelle’s attention had been captured by Ringo and Gracie and was giggling as they licked her face and pawed at her playfully.

Aaron, Jay and Billy all got their room keys and went to drop off their bags, Zak however got a bell boy to take our luggage to our room so he could catch up with Nick and Roni and I could continue entertaining Annabelle. She insisted we have a ‘tea party’ in the dining room of the hotel, I obliged, remembering the tea parties I had with my father when I was her age. The waitress was kind enough to provide us with cups and saucers, even some milk – thankfully she didn’t give us any actual tea – Annabelle chattered away about how to pour tea and her favourite teddy bear. I listened intently, catching Zak and the others looking on at the scene with warm smiles.

“Claire would you like some tea?” Annabelle asked, I felt a pang in my stomach.

“Claire?” I asked, trying not to sound concerned.

“Yeah, the girl sat next to you.” She cheerfully replied, pointing to the chair on my right, it was empty to my knowledge, however my sister’s voice changed that.

“ _Yes I’d love some Annabelle._ ”

I cast a glance at Zak who didn’t seem to notice anything. I smiled at Annabelle and wondered how I was going to explain to Nick and Roni that their daughter had seen the spirit of my dead sister.

Our tea party seemed to go on for ages, I didn’t mind though, it was a pleasant experience and I actually enjoyed myself. Roni called to Annabelle that she needed to say goodbye and go to bed, the small girl hugged me tightly and each of the dogs in turn before taking her mother’s hand and left us. I sighed lightly and stood up, Ringo following suit instinctively.

“You want to go for a walk boy?” I asked him, Gracie leapt up at this point and pawed at my leg at the mention of the work ‘walk’.

I heard Aaron and Billy laugh, I hadn’t realised they were there, Wasley too. Zak simply smiled and shrugged when I looked to him for an answer.

After a few minutes I persuaded Aaron to accompany me on walking the dogs around the area, it was a peaceful place to be in the late afternoon sun. I took in the sight of the bay as the phone came out and started recording.

“Sup guys! It’s Aaron and Luna here in California!”

I rolled my eyes and smiled as I found the camera pointed at me. “Hey!”

“We’re just walking the dogs right now, not intending to do any lockdowns anytime soon we’re just chilling.” Aaron continued, focusing on Gracie and Ringo padding along in front of us. “Dunno what we’re gonna be doing but I’ll film whatever we end up doing!”

I sometimes wondered just what the point of some of these vlogs was but nevertheless I laughed as he pulled a funny face and stopped recording.

“Having fun there Aaron?” I asked as the phone disappeared back into his pocket.

“Yeah!” he replied enthusiastically. “I love it when we just kick back and chill, it makes all the nights locked up in insane asylums worth it.”

We ended up taking longer than intended, mainly because we paused at on overlook of the bay and just enjoyed the view for a while. I was happy to be able to spend my time in such beautiful places with good friends without a care in the world. When we eventually got back to the hotel Zak immediately took my hand and kissed it, catching me slightly off guard but made me smile all the same. He was wearing a plain blue shirt which was oddly bright for him but I didn’t question it, he did have other clothes than the trademark black he was always seen in.

“M’lady.” He remarked, taking Ringo’s leash and handing it to Billy. “I wish to watch the sunset with you, what do you say to accompanying me outside?”

I raised an eyebrow at the formality of his request but nodded with a smile. He led me up a flight of stairs and out onto a terrace, a line of doors stretched on one side and the view of the bay on the other. The sun was low in the sky as we stood next to each other, watching the sea birds swoop and glide over the quiet water, small fishing boats and yachts bounced on the gentle waves; their shadows casting silently on the surface. A light breeze passed through from the other side of the bay, bringing with it the smell of the not too distant ocean and the sounds of the birds.

“It’s perfect.” I sighed, leaning my head on Zak’s shoulder. “It’s just perfect.”

He rested his head on top of mine. “I’m glad you like it.” He whispered. “There’s so much I want to show you over the next few days.”

“I can’t wait.” I replied as the sun began to sink over the horizon. The sky gradually turned orange as if a pot of paint had been spilled over it, turning the few clouds that were in the sky a pinkish colour and casting longer shadows on the water from the boats. It was one of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen, we stayed there until the night drew in and the moon began rising. Zak kissed my neck and whispered sweet nothings in my ear as I let my body fall into his arms, totally at ease with everything around me whilst he gently carried me to our room.

**~*~**

After an early breakfast the next morning we drove two hours up the coast to a secluded beach, it was a warm day and the ocean breeze was a good way to cool off in the sun. The dogs bounded in and out of the water with little care, I watched Nick and Annabelle bury Aaron in the sand as Wasley laughed and filmed the entire scenario of only Aaron’s head popping out of the sand. Billy and Zak threw sticks for the dogs to chase, occasionally having to find new ones as they kept getting lost in the waves of the ocean. I sat with Roni and simply enjoyed the heat that England seemed to only get in short harsh bursts every year.

As Nick helped Aaron unbury himself Annabelle pestered me to take her swimming, after confirming that it was okay with Roni I took off my shorts and shirt to reveal my simple two-piece swimsuit, it didn’t show off my body too much which was the intention. Annabelle shrieked with delight as she reached the water’s edge, even more so when Wasley came up from behind her and picked her up.

I stepped into the water, it was pleasantly cool as I stepped in further up to my waist. Wasley wadded in with Annabelle; carefully releasing her into the waves so I could take her hands and keep her afloat.

We laughed and splashed Wasley repeatedly, he sighed and complained playfully about his clothes getting wet before abruptly diving into the water next to me, causing bigger waves to lap against us. It continued like that for a while, with Billy joining us until Zak called us back for lunch which had been made and packed by the restaurant staff of our hotel.

Annabelle settled down for a while in the shade of our parasol as the heat of the day grew, we all relaxed and joked around, even the dogs led down and snoozed for a while.

“So Luna, I bet you don’t have summers like this back in England.” Wasley remarked, resting a can of coke from the icebox on his forehead.

“Nah, we get temperatures like this once or twice a year; during exam week and then the first week of the new school year.” I replied with a laugh. “The actual summer break is normally cooler and notorious for rain.”

After an hour had passed I decided to go swimming, taking Zak with me into the water. I hardly said anything as I relished the refreshing water around my body, Zak stayed close to me, his fingers running up and down my body both in and out of the water. I kissed him, the sea salt present but none of my concern as I anchored myself to him with my legs.

“I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful you are.” He murmured, treading water lightly as we stared at each other.

“Well you’re the most fine-looking guy I’ve ever laid eyes on.” I replied with a smile. “And there is no-one in the world who can make me as happy as you do.”

He smiled, kissing me again before pulling away with a mischievous look in his eyes. “Hold your breath.” He said with a smirk.

I raised an eyebrow as he leaned back, slipping under the water. I inhaled quickly as my body followed his. The feeling of water swallowing us both was both invigorating and terrifying. When I released myself from Zak and reached the surface I gasped loudly. He resurfaced a few feet from me with a splash and a laugh a few seconds later.

“Can’t we just have one nice conversation for once-” I said, interrupted by a hand dragging me down under the water, I kicked it away and resurfaced again, spluttering and gasping for much needed air. I turned around to find Nick nearly dying from laughter.

“I’m sorry!” he cried between laughs. “It was too tempting.”

“I swear on Jay’s grave Nicholas I’m going to drown you in this sea when I get hold of you!” I exclaimed, kicking my legs to get me moving.

We spent goodness knows how long in the water diving and splashing away from each other. The sun started sinking lower in the sky, we began to tire so we got out of the ocean and retreated to where Aaron and Billy were constructing impressive sandcastles with Annabelle. Wasley had fallen asleep under the parasol and both dogs were sprawled out next to him which made for an entertaining picture for Twitter.

Eventually it was decided that we should go back to the hotel, mainly as Annabelle was becoming cranky with tiredness. We enjoyed a light meal in the restaurant before sitting out in the cool evening air by the hotel’s pool.

“I could get used to these vacations.” Wasley sighed.

“Same.” I replied. “It’s great to me able to chill with everyone, it’s one of the best things ever.”

Zak coaxed me to sit on his lap as we all fell silent, it was a pleasant kinda of silence, we were all exhausted from the day we had but it had been fun. Aaron had recorded a few videos, many photos had been taken and I happened to glance at Zak’s twitter feed to see a flood of replies and comments on a picture of us together in the ocean alone.

“It’s a nice picture.” I murmured, kissing his neck.

“Yeah…” he replied. “Hang on, you don’t have a twitter account do you?”

“Nope. Too many idiots from my school would’ve wanted it.”

Before I knew it he had my phone in his hand and was downloading the twitter app, a few minutes later I had an account which Zak and Aaron then proceeded to announce to the world.

“Why….just why?” I asked, sighing at the smirk on Zak’s face.

“Just in case you wanted to interact with our fans some more.”

“I liked being anonymous on the internet.” I pouted.

They all laughed, my phone started going crazy with notifications as the follower count climbed and mentions came in. I rolled my eyes and decided to make the monumental first tweet.

‘ _Having a perfect vacation in California with Zak and the guys, if only England could be this amazing!_ ’

“Pretty lame but whatever.” I remarked, publishing it without a second thought.

“You’re lame.” Zak teased.

“Your face is lame.” I said, bopping him on the nose.

“Oh I see how it is.” He exclaimed, folding his arms. “My face is lame huh?”

We all started laughing again. I wondered what else was planned for this vacation but knew better than to ask, Zak would probably just say it’s a surprise and refuse to give me any clues. I didn’t mind that though, it was one of his qualities that I loved; the wish to surprise me and keep me guessing, one day I’d get him back though I just had to think of a way to do that…

 


	17. Californian Wilderness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a little late and shorter than the usual update! I had a few emotional setbacks this week and I didn't feel like writing :/  
> Anyway, we're fast approaching the end of this part....as in there's only like two or three chapters left (and then an epilogue) but have no fear! I have another project in the works...kind of. So I will be continuing to write for this fandom but this series has run its course, although there is a chance of a 5th -but smaller - part if you guys really want it (that means let me know if you do!).
> 
> All in all there's going to be a huge cliffhanger next chapter so...there's your warning! :)
> 
> *Keith Urban - Days go by*

**Californian Wilderness**  


“Horse riding?” I asked. We had pulled up to a ranch up the coast from our hotel, it was your typical western style ranch with paddocks surrounding the main building that was the reception counter.

“Yep.” Billy replied. “Zak’s idea not mine.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled. I hadn’t been horse riding for years and had been meaning to experience it again for a while. Annabelle unfortunately wasn’t allowed to ride with us on our day trek around the Californian wilderness as she was too young to handle herself on horseback but it was agreed that Aaron and Roni would take it in turns to sit with her in the cart that would be pulled along with our extra supplies.

So we filled out the necessary paperwork and then got given riding gear, finally we were introduced to the horses we’d be riding for the next few hours; I knew next to nothing about horses so when I was presented with a grey mare with a black mane I was a little unsure of what to do.

“This is Pepper.” The stable hand told me as I was handed the reins. “She’s very experienced so I’m sure you’ll be fine with her, do you want help mounting?”

I nodded and gained a boost onto the saddle, once I was seated I glanced around at the others; Zak had been given a bigger mare which was a dark brown colour with a black mane and went by the name of Frankie, Nick had a young grey stallion with a lighter brown mane called Bucky, Billy and Wasley both had black mares – sisters – called Lady and Lucy, the horse Aaron and Roni would be sharing was an old chestnut stallion called Sargent.

Once we were all told the basics of riding and all the final safety checks done we set off on the coastal trail with a guide leading us and another trailing us with the cart behind them. It felt great to be on horseback again, the sea breeze nipping at my body as we slowly trotted along the unkept trail.

I spent a good hour just talking to Pepper as we turned off the coast and onto the woodland pathways. Wasley rode alongside me for a while with Lucy, I could hear Zak and Billy joking around behind us and I could faintly hear Aaron declaring another video being filmed as Nick rode along with Roni. It really was a relaxing atmosphere, just being able to enjoy the scenery.

We stopped at an overlook point to give the horses a chance to have a drink and also give our bodies a break from riding for so long. I was interrogated by Aaron’s camera once again and greeted by an excited Annabelle, we let her sit on my horse until we had to get moving again.

Our guide left us to our messing around, only interrupting a few times to inform us of unsteady ground or to share a short history lesson about the land we were riding on. Zak trotted to my side, he seemed to handle himself well on a horse, and stroked my cheek gently.

“Having fun?” he asked.

“Yeah! It’s been a blast so far.” I replied. “Will we be picking up speed anytime soon? I want to feel the wind in my hair.”

“I’ll ask the guide if you want, we might be able to get ahead of the others and wait for them.”

He trotted up the convoy, past Billy and Wasley who were in front of me and up to the guide’s horse. I watched him exchange words before shaking his hand and trotting back to me. “He said as long as we keep in sight it’s good, so once we get onto the flat plains again we can.”

I smiled, although I had never galloped on a horse before I had faith in Pepper and in Zak to keep me safe, and of course the guides wouldn’t be far behind us.

A few minutes passed, we left the forest behind and caught a glimpse at the seemingly endless wilderness that we had to cross. The guide looked over his shoulder and nodded at Zak, giving us the go-ahead to ride ahead of the rest of the party.

“Come on then Luna.” Zak said, lightly digging his heels into Frankie and leaving my side. I giggled at his enthusiasm and followed suit, Pepper catching up to Frankie in a few strides. We rode at a canter pace, fast enough to feel the rush but slow enough to keep in shouting distance of the guide.

I felt so free, the sun in the sky and the breeze whipping around me as I let myself enjoy this moment. The thundering of hooves beneath us and the snorts of the horses filled the silence between Zak and I, I didn’t even notice that we were being follow until Billy and Wasley came up either side of us yelling and laughing.

“You crazy idiots!” Billy laughed, turning Lady away, Pepper followed. We slowed down after a while and regrouped as we waited for the rest of them to catch up, letting the horses regain their breath.

“Why did you call us crazy?” I asked Billy as we waited.

“Because you just left in a flash.” He grinned. “So Jay and I set off in hot pursuit of you.”

“And but you scoundrels got away.” Wasley remarked in a corny wild west accent. “So Sheriff Tolley and his deputy will have to wait another day to catch the criminals.”

I laughed. “And what crime have we committed?”  Zak asked, rolling his eyes at all of us.

“The crime of passion obviously.” Billy stated.

“Well good luck catching us.” I called as I dug my heels in and spurred Pepper to a canter. I heard Zak laugh and then the sound of hooves following me back towards the convoy.

“You certainly have a wild personality about you.” He joked as we continued towards Nick and Aaron. “I love it.”

I smiled. Nick just regarded us with a raised eyebrow when we finally got back to him, the rest of the ride went more or less without much joking around. We persuaded the guide to let Annabelle ride with me as long as I stayed with the convoy, she waved to Roni whenever she caught sight of her but for most of the time laughed at Aaron’s face pulling and stroked Pepper’s mane.

**~*~**

It was still reasonably warm when we got back to the hotel so we decided to relax our sore muscles in the hotel’s pool, or rather I wanted to relax but Annabelle wanted me to let her sit on my back whilst I swam lengths. Roni and Nick used this opportunity to slip off somewhere and the rest of the guys just sat in deck chairs watching us. Zak seemed restless for some reason, as if he had something on his mind; he kept zoning in and out of conversation with Aaron with his gaze focused on me each time.

I enjoyed spending time with Annabelle, I saw her as a little sister or cousin and the time we spent together made me wonder what having a daughter would be like. I reckoned that Zak would be a great dad, and our child would have some amazing godfathers and adoptive uncles.

“ _And spirit guardian._ ” Jay chimed in.

“ _Guardians._ ” Claire corrected.

“ _Oh sh. I was here before you._ ”

“ _Actually you weren’t._ ”

I sighed as the two continued to bicker, Annabelle either didn’t notice or didn’t question it as she giggled and called to the others to look at us in the pool. Billy waved back and Wasley jumped up and stripped down to his swimming trunks before cannonballing into the pool; creating a massive wave and causing both of us to shriek loudly.

“Jay!" Annabelle giggled, making grabby-hands for him.

“Annie!” Wasley replied, making the same gesture back.

I rolled my eyes and gently eased her off my back so she could doggy-paddle her way over to Wasley, I took this opportunity to let myself float on my back for a while; soothing my shoulders and thighs. The sun had warmed the water so I quickly began to fall asleep only to be woken up abruptly by hands on my waist.

“Wakey wakey!” Zak remarked with a grin.

I slammed my hand into the water and splashed him in surprise. “Don’t do that!” I squealed, playfully shoving him away. “You know I don’t like surprises!”

“Oh really?” he replied, pulling me close and kissing me deeply.

In that moment I lost all train of thought and the slight irritation at being woken up. The feeling of giddiness that I feel after each kiss never weakened no matter how many times we kissed.

“I still hate surprises like that.” I muttered, looking up at him.

“Aw…but you look so cute when you’re surprised.”

I playfully shoved him again. “Shut up!” I laughed.

“Can I surprise you one more time?” he asked, his voice quiet and serious as we slowly paddled along the length of the pool.

“…as long as I’m not getting thrown in the ocean again, yeah.” I replied.

“Great, tomorrow’s going to be just the two of us then.” He whispered, pushing me gently against the pool wall. “It’ll be a day to remember.”

I smiled, unsure as to what he was getting at but knowing he wouldn’t tell me. I’d simply have to wait until tomorrow to find out what he’s planned.

“I can’t wait.” I whispered back, kissing him lightly. “Now can I get back to sleeping in the pool?”

He laughed and bumped our foreheads together. “If that’s really what you want.”

“Well unless you want to carry me to bed…then yes that is what I want.”

He raised an eyebrow at me before laughing again. “I love you.” He said with a grin.

“I love you too.”


	18. Final Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Generic apology for lateness.*  
> *Generic excuse of writer's block*  
> *Flails arms around because this chapter was a bitch to write*
> 
> Anyway, thank-you for your patience!
> 
> *Scotty McCreey – I love you this big*  
> *Sleeping With Sirens - All of my heart*

  **Final Surprise**

I didn’t wake up until lunchtime, something about the previous day had left me so tired that I completely slept through Zak’s awakening. Although it seemed he had counted on me not getting up early as I was presented with brunch in bed within a few minutes of waking up.

“Afternoon sleepy head.” He remarked, placing a tray on the bedside table. A bowl of fruit salad and a side of lightly buttered toast adorned the silverware along with what seemed to be a glass of sparkling water. “Finally decided to wake up eh?”

“Oh shush.” I replied, popping a grape into my mouth. “My thighs still kill after yesterday.”

“Well it’s a good thing you didn’t ride anything too hard then.” He smirked, sitting next to me on the bed as I felt my face heat up at his remark.

I laughed and nearly choked on one of the pieces of melon I was eating. “Sometimes I swear you make those comments just to see my reaction.” I complained as I forced myself to swallow quickly.

“Maybe.” Zak simply replied, watching me intently as I finished eating. He didn’t give me a chance to think about getting up as he was suddenly within inches of kissing me, I smiled at him as I searched his eyes for clues about today’s activities.

When we had been silent for a few minutes, neither of us moving, Zak sighed loudly and kissed my forehead before declaring that he was gonna check in with the others, he motioned for me to get ready to go as he left. I shook my head and laughed lightly as I rummaged through my suitcase for some clean clothing. Not knowing what we were up to made my choice somewhat difficult, I decided to just go with the normal jeans and tank top combination that I was familiar and comfortable with.

“ _Well today is going to be fun!_ ” Jay remarked as I brushed my hair.

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“ _Pay no attention to him sis, he needs to keep his mouth shut._ ” Claire replied. “ _You just have fun today with Zak and ignore us._ ”

I was about to ask them what they knew when Zak returned with a grin on his face. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck several times before finally speaking.

“Ready?” he whispered.

“Yeah, where are we going?”

“Just a quiet place.”

He took my hand in his and led to the van, wherever we ended up wasn’t very far away at all as barely ten minutes later we were pulling up next to the edge of some woodland. We started walking down a trail with the trees quickly surrounding us, hardly a word was said between us but that was okay because a chorus of birds filled the air around us. As we wandered hand in hand I couldn’t help but feel as if we were leaving our busy lives behind us and getting lost in a fairytale land, somewhere far away from the world as we knew it and finally being alone together.

Zak paused at a towering tree, it’s trunk wider than most that I saw back home in the local woodlands. I craned my neck up to look at the branches that stretched outwards, the leaves causing the sunlight to shine through in specks upon the forest floor.

“Alright?” he asked as we lingered by this particular tree.

“Yeah, is there any reason why we’re here?” I asked, moving closer to him and resting my head on his chest.

“It’s dead cheesy…but I thought we could carve our initials into this tree.” He replied with a smile.

I looked closer at the tree trunk, it was littered with carvings of names and dates, many a few years old and badly done but I could tell this had been a popular place. He found a spot big enough and dug out his pocket knife, which I questioned at first but he simply shrugged and kissed me before continuing to dig into the trunk. Ten minutes later he stood back and admired his handiwork; _Z.B + L.L – July 2014_ engraved into the tree.

“Perfect.” I murmured, looking into his excited eyes. “Mind if I take a picture?”

He smiled back. “Nah, just don’t let the gps activate, I want to keep this place a secret.”

I did as he said, less than a minute later the picture was on twitter, no doubt causing ripples within our fanbase. Zak didn’t give me time to dwell as he started leading me through the trees again. It was nice to be out without the others for once, even without our dogs, it meant all our attention was on each other and our surroundings.

However all the walking did mean my feet were getting sore, especially from the rough terrain of the unkept trail. About half an hour of walking later we stopped by a small brook which trickled out from underneath the foliage and Zak decided to carry me on his back for the rest of the walk to wherever we were ultimately headed. I nearly fell asleep to the steady rhythm of his footsteps, it was such a nice day and I felt totally at ease with him, so relaxed and happy just being in his company.

“Alright, we’re here.” He sighed.

I opened my eyes to find us in the middle of the woods, a large lake spread out before us which dragonflies glided over gracefully. The sun shimmered off the water and made the entire area seem like a hidden paradise. Birds serenaded us with their sweet songs as we found a place to sit on the grass and admire the scene before us.

“It’s beautiful.” I said after a few moments of silence between us. “I love it.”

He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close. “Good, it took a while getting here.” He whispered. “But it was worth it for your reaction.”

I turned and caught his lips with mine, he made a small noise of surprise but returned the kiss, cupping my face with his hand as his arm tightened around me. As his lips moved to my neck I leaned backwards, pulling him on top of me as I dropped onto the grass. He laughed and nuzzled my neck before slowly running his hand across my chest, a daring look in his eyes as fingers closed around one of my breasts and squeezed.

“Getting a little rebellious eh?” I remarked, though I enjoyed his bold side when he let it show.

“Just a little. I just can’t help myself sometimes.” He retorted smugly. “You’re just so stunning…I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you.”

I felt myself blush. “You make me feel like the luckiest girl alive Zak, I mean it. I couldn’t imagine life without you.”

He sat up, pulling me to sit up with him. Stroking my cheek gently he said; “It’s weird to think it’s been two years.”

“Two…interesting years.” I commented. “Yeah, it’s certainly been different to what I imagined my life would be like.”

“Good though?”

“Heck yeah. It’s been amazing, meeting the guys, exploring creepy places, meeting you…loving you.” I let the sentence trail off, studying his face as he listened to me. “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

“I realised something last year…whilst we were in Letchworth village.” He sighed, his gaze shifting to the lake in front of us. “When you had your ordeal in the morgue…”

I nodded, pieces of that night coming back; Nick going missing for nearly four hours, the siren going off whilst I had a minor panic attack in the body freezer, Jay coming back. That had been one of the longest nights of my life and one of the most terrifying at that.

“You weren’t feeling yourself after that siren went off, Nick had been missing for a few hours, we were all beside ourselves and lost.” He continued, I wondered what he was getting at. “I had to make a choice between looking for Nick and getting you out of there safely.”

He looked at me, squeezing my hand as he let the statement hang. “So…?” I eventually asked.

“…you were my choice.” He smiled, blushing slightly. “I took it upon myself to guarantee your safety…because I love you.”

I let a smile spread across my face. “So you picked me over Nick?”

“…in a way…yeah.”

“…and is there a reason for you telling me this?”

He sighed heavily and bit his lip slightly. “I wasn’t sure if you remembered it. I wanted you to know that if it came to choosing between my friends and you…god forbid that should ever happen…I would choose you, everytime.”

I was a little stunned, I knew that his friends were family to him, to be told that he’d pick me over them in a heartbeat was something I wasn’t expecting. “Well…I’m flattered Zak…more than flattered…I don’t know what to say really to that.”

“Don’t say anything to that then…but I wanted to tell you that before I ask you something.”

“Ask me what?”

He put a finger to my lips. “Don’t say anything until I’ve finished…okay?” his eyes portrayed seriousness which somewhat concerned me.

I nodded against his finger and smiled as he sighed lightly.

“Okay.” He squeezed my hand and was silent for a few minutes, opening and closing his mouth several times before eventually finding the words he wanted. “Luna, these past three years, two of which we’ve been together, have been the best of my life. The time we’ve spent together has been amazing, even if most of it has been in haunted buildings.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at that statement, he smiled and shook his head slightly.

“But even those nights were amazing in their own way…because we were both pushing for answers which is honestly the best way we could’ve met in my opinion…” his smile was growing as he spoke, a spark in his eyes everytime he glanced back at the lake. My heart was beating quickly as he continued. “When you asked me to let you do a solo session in that morgue I wanted to refuse because I knew you’d be vulnerable…but I let you do it anyway because I couldn’t bring myself to deny you something you wanted.”

I was really curious as to where he was going with all of this, he kissed my hand and let the silence fall between us for a few moments, almost daring me to ask.

“…so…what are you saying Zak?” I asked eventually.

“Luna I can’t imagine my life without you, I know I’ve said that a lot but I really can’t. When you go back to England I physically ache and long for your presence, for your body pressed against mine, your sleepy eyes in the morning, your laughter around my home.” He paused, looking behind me for a brief second. “What do you want Luna?” he asked me suddenly.

“…I want you.” I uttered, squeezing his hand. “Just you…”

He smiled, biting his lip as he looked past me again, I heard quick and light footsteps before Ringo trotted to Zak’s side. I was really confused as he was wearing the camera harness but there was no camera, also why was he here if he was with the others? Zak reached into one of the pockets and took something out that I couldn’t see and then pushed Ringo aside. He squeezed my hand, watching my reaction.

“Zak…” I started as he brought his other hand forward. A small box was produced in front of me, he opened it slowly to reveal a silver ring with tinted gold strips of metal wrapping around a roughly cut stone.

“Luna…it would make me the happiest guy on the planet if we could spend the rest of our lives together.” He said. “So will you marry me?”

I was stunned, my hand flew up to cover my mouth as I glanced from Zak to the ring and then back again. It was all I could do to not shriek with delight as I nodded quickly and watched the happiness spread over his face.

“Yes, yes I will!” I squealed against my hand.

He carefully removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto my finger, it was a little loose but wasn’t going to fly off anytime soon.

“It’s a moonstone.” He stated. “I couldn’t resist making a pun on your name.”

I laughed and threw my arms around his neck. He held me close to him for what seemed like an eternity, Ringo nudged my arms and licked my hand which spurred me to pull away.

“I love you.” I told Zak.

“I love you too.”

“…how did Ringo get here?”

A mischievous smile graced Zak’s face. “Um…I may have planned this with the help of someone.”

I raised an eyebrow and giggled. “Right.”

“Okay maybe the guys had _something_ to do with it…”

“Maybe?”

“Fine, I asked them for help.” He admitted, bumping our foreheads together. “Now does that satisfy your curiosity?”

“For now.” I replied, glancing at the ring on my finger. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Believe it.” He said softly, pressing his lips to mine. “Our lives are only going to get better from now on.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Neither can I.”


	19. The best day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well it only took me 3 god damn weeks!  
> And we're now 1 chapter away from the end!  
> Also there were several songs that inspired this chapter so...yeah..woo
> 
> Westlife – Beautiful in White  
> Mumford and Sons – I will wait  
> Brave Soundtrack – Learn me right  
> Heartland – I loved her first

**The best day**

*One year later – April 18th*

“I still can’t believe this is about to happen!” Kate squealed as she put the finishing touches to my hair, she had spent half an hour curling it and then tying it up in an elegant ponytail complete with a rose hairpin.

“I know, who would’ve thought it…” I sighed, I couldn’t stop myself smiling as I hugged her tightly.

“You’re so lucky Luna, this is just amazing.” She continued. “You’re getting married today in this very chapel!”

The wedding had been planned mostly by Zak and his sister with input from Roni and Nick, I had to reside in England and only plan smaller details that didn’t require me to be there. Kate and Amelia helped me go dress shopping and train Ringo for his part in the ceremony. The slight awkwardness of telling my parents who had divorced during the autumn months was avoided thanks to my uncle, however they had both refused to attend the ceremony. All in all everything had gone smoothly, even applying for the correct visa and license went without too much stress.

“Right, so we better get you into your dress Mrs soon-to-be Bagans!”

I laughed, having my childhood best friend here was making the pre-wedding nerves disappear reasonably quickly, as was the wedding venue having a dressing room; it meant that we didn’t have to worry about travelling from a hotel to the chapel by car.

The dress was knee length and white, with a pale blue underskirt which matched the intricate pattern on the bust of the dress and it hugged my body ‘from boobs to bum’ as Roni remarked when she saw me in it for the first time. Kate was my only bridesmaid but I was having Annabelle as a flowergirl and Roni as my maid of honour, they were all wearing pale lilac dresses with white bouquets.

When I was finally in my dress I admired myself in the mirror, I couldn’t believe I was going to be married to Zak by the end of the day. I felt Claire’s gentle touch on my shoulder, a brief flicker in the mirror showed her standing beside me.

“ _You look beautiful sis…_ ” she whispered.

I smiled, I wish she could be here in the flesh. A look at the clock reminded me that the ceremony was only 45 minutes away. Roni sat me down and did my make-up as Ringo was brought in, he was going to accompany Annabelle down the aisle, carrying the basket of flower petals in his mouth for her so he had to look the part; a pale blue bow tie was hooked onto his collar so he’d match the groomsmen.

“Right, so now you need the four good luck charms.” Kate chimed in after getting changed into her own dress. “Something old?”

“My grandmother’s ring.” I replied, holding up my right hand to show her the small silver ring that had been in my family for generations before me.

“Something new?”

“Does the dress count?”

“Yeah. Something borrowed?”

“Your necklace.” I said, brushing my fingers over the dainty gold pendent.

“Great, and something blue?”

“Ringo.”

“He doesn’t count.”

“Dammit.” I laughed. “What about the underskirt of my dress?”

“Or…” Roni remarked, a small smirk playing on her lips. “I _did_ happen to invest in a little present for you.

I raised an eyebrow as she went into her handbag and pulled out a small blue ring of material and presented me with it.

“A blue garter…really?” I asked, trying to not burst out laughing. “I’m sure Zak will love it.”

“ _He’ll love reaching under your dress for it certainly_.” Jay said out of the blue, I had told him to stay with Zak and offer brotherly advice but clearly he wasn’t listening to that.

“Oh hush.” I snapped playfully as I eased the garment up to my thigh.

“Mommy when do I get to walk down the aisle?” Annabelle asked, jumping up and down excitedly in her adorable dress.

“Soon baby, we have to make sure Luna is all pretty.”

“She’s pretty anyway!”

We all giggled at her response, Ringo barked as there was a knock at the door. Kate spoke in a hushed tone to who I think was Billy before declaring that ‘of course we’re busy there’s a bride-to-be in here!’ More words were exchanged in hushed tones before the door closed and Kate returned with a grin.

“Nearly time Luna!” she said. “Who’s walking you down the aisle considering your dad…”

“Well Nick is best man so I decided to ask Billy.” I replied as Roni finished putting the final touches to my make-up.

My stomach was beginning to knot up as the minutes ticked by, my phone buzzed as twitter notifications blew up, I guessed the livestream was running. We decided that considering there was a lot of interest in our wedding that we’d livestream it, it also meant all my family and friends in England could watch the ceremony.  It was just another sign that time was ticking.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, this was an unforgettable day for me, I was finally marrying the man I loved and we were going to have our closest friends around us celebrating it, even my sister was going to be with me when I said ‘I do’.

“Right, it’s time Luna.” Roni declared, picking up my bouquet of white and red roses and handing it to me. “Are you ready to get married?”

I took the flowers and smiled. “I’ve been ready for a year.” I replied.

**~*~**

**Zak’s P.O.V**

Nick was grinning at me again, he wasn’t helping my nerves but in a weird way he was. Luna was in the bridal dressing room with Roni, Kate and Annabelle meanwhile I was stood here at the alter waiting for the ceremony to start and trying to keep my sweating to a minimum.

“You got the rings right?” I asked him.

“Yeah dude don’t worry.”

I shook my head and tried to laugh it off, I did remember but I was paranoid as usual, I wanted this to all go perfectly. Our family and friends were all seated and chattering excitedly in the wooden pews, each pew was decorated with a red rose to match our red white and blue theme; chosen to represent both countries we hailed from; the United States and the United Kingdom, which was Luna’s idea of course.

“Nearly time bro.” Nick suddenly murmured, checking his watch. “Excited?”

I smiled, of course I was, this was the happiest day of my life but also the most terrifying. I was about to reply when the band started up, signalling that the love of my life was about to walk down the aisle and become my wife.

The congregation stood up as little Annabelle appeared at the back of the hall, she smiled as she held onto Ringo’s collar and tossed flower petals onto the floor from the basket in the dog’s mouth. I looked to Nick who was beaming at her as she reached us and led Ringo to the side, she waved at us as Ringo sat obediently beside her.

Kate was the next one down followed by Roni, both of them looked beautiful, my palms were sweating as they both took their positions at the side with Annabelle. There was a pause before I saw Billy and Luna. My heart skipped a beat when I saw her, she looked radiant and I thought I was dreaming, I covered my mouth with both hands as she smiled at me, that beautiful smile that I’d be seeing everyday for the rest of my life.

“She’s stunning.” Nick whispered.

I nodded, tears pricking slightly in my eyes as Billy walked her down the aisle to me. He was smiling just as widely as she was when they reached us, I almost couldn’t contain myself as I took my hands away from my face and smiled at her.

“You look amazing…” I breathed, she smiled and nodded.

“So do you.” She whispered.

Throughout the entire ceremony I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, she looked so gorgeous I couldn’t believe it.

“Who gives this woman to this man in marriage?” the preacher asked.  
“I do.” Billy answered, smiling at Luna and then offering her right hand to my left. I nodded and carefully linked my arm with hers, she glanced at me still smiling, I felt my heart skip again as the situation sunk in.

When the preacher asked for the rings I looked to Nick, he put his hands in his pockets but they came out empty, he looked to the preacher and shrugged. I started panicking until I saw the grin on his face, he had planned this.

He then nodded towards the aisle, Aaron was leading Gracie down, she had an identical basket to Ringo in her mouth which I could see had a small box in it. She padded forward from where Aaron halted and dropped the basket at my feet before nudging my leg. I bent down and picked it up, giving her a stroke as I stood up and showed Luna the rings. At first glance they were simple gold bands but close up you could see that there were layers of silver and white gold fused together to make swirling patterns all around the ring.

“Wedding rings are made precious by our wearing them. Your rings say that even in your uniqueness you have chosen to be bound together.” The preacher declared as we each took a ring. “Now Zak, place the ring on her finger and repeat after me.”

I nodded, taking her hand in mine.

“I, Zachary Bagans, give you, Luna Lewis, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you.” I recited after him. He then turned to her and she said the same, the rings fit perfectly on both of us.

"You have for each other special rings – symbols that love is the most precious element in your life together. The ring has no beginning and no ending, which symbolizes that the love between you will never cease. You place these rings upon each other’s fingers as a visible sign of your vows this day, which will make you husband and wife.” The preacher continued. “And now, by the power vested in me by the State of Nevada, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss."

I delicately cupped her face and kissed her. I could feel her smiling as applause and the sound of cameras snapping filled the small chapel.

“Family and Friends, I present to you Zak and Luna Bagans.” The preacher declared.

I honestly couldn’t stop smiling, this was so overwhelming and I couldn’t believe it was happening, the love of my life was now my wife.

**~*~**

**Luna’s P.O.V**

The reception was held at a small private club, a few of our friends who couldn’t make it to the ceremony showed up along with all the other guests. Billy had gotten one of his DJ friends to provide us with music as we were all seated at tables draped in white tablecloths.

As the music faded Billy stood up, clasping a microphone in hand to address our guests. “Welcome everyone, I hope you’ve all had a wonderful day, I’m sure these two will want to thank us all for celebrating their special day with them.” He grinned at Zak and I. “I would like to thank you all too, Luna’s like a little sister to me and Zak is one of my closest friends. I couldn’t imagine two people to be more right for each other, age is just a number after all and I’m glad it hasn’t affected their love for each other.”

A chorus of ‘aws’ and applause erupted as Billy sat down and kissed my cheek, with the guests all greeted it was time for the first dance to occur. I let Zak choose the song we’d dance to, we slowly walked out onto the dancefloor as the introduction to a song from one of my favourite films.

“You chose a song from Brave?” I whispered as he placed a hand on my waist.

“I may have remembered that you said it was your favourite Disney film.” He smiled, taking my hand and resting it on his shoulder.

_We will run and scream_   
_You will dance with me_   
_We’ll fulfil our dreams and we’ll be free_

He led me around the dance floor slowly and gracefully, I couldn’t stop smiling as I gazed up at him. This was hands down the best day of my life, I forgot that everyone was watching us and just continued gazing at Zak, he gazed back, he never looked happier.

_We will be who we are_   
_And they’ll heal our scars_   
_Sadness will be far away_

He chose that specific moment to pick me up bridal style and spin around. I hugged his neck and kissed his cheek as the room became a blur. When the song ended he set me down, we both laughed and I kissed him again as the DJ began playing some general music for everyone to dance to.

I danced with Aaron and Jay, in much less seriousness. Nick took me for a slow dance whilst Zak addressed the livestream and thanked the fans for all their support. The song ended and I just expected things to continue however Zak told me to sit down as he had a ‘surprise’ for me.

The lights were dimmed and the guests hushed as Billy once again took the microphone and stood to address us. “Now I’m sure most of you are aware that neither of Luna’s parents could make it today, which is a shame as I know as a father I’d do anything to be there for my daughter on her wedding day.”

I squeezed Zak’s hand as a projector was turned on and white light bathed the wall behind Billy. I felt Claire’s presence next to me as Billy continued.

“Well Luna, I couldn’t hope to replace your father but I did manage to get him to agree to this.”

The white light focused to show a Skype call  in progress, a few seconds later my father’s face showed up, he was smiling and I could tell he had been crying.

“Hey darling, it’s your dad here.” He said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there today to see you get married. I know how much it would’ve meant to you to have me there.”

I felt tears in my eyes and carefully wiped them away, Ringo had been sat under the table for most of the proceedings with Gracie  but at my father’s voice he poked his head out and whined slightly.

“So I guess I’ll do my father-of–the-bride speech now.” He continued, unfolding a piece of paper. I heard murmurs from around the room as I glanced to Billy and mouthed ‘thank-you’. “Luna, I know life’s been a bit of a rollarcoaster for you, especially the last few years. I thank God everyday that you’ve turned out to be such a beautiful woman, I also thank him for bringing you Zak; a pleasant man who I know will treat you the way you deserve unlike those boys from school who broke your heart. I wish your sister could’ve been alive now to see you turn out the way you have, all she ever talked about was how she was going to be a bridesmaid for you and you ‘d do the same for her.”

“ _Oh dad…_ ”I heard Claire whisper. I smiled and nodded for him to continue.

“Now I can’t be there in person, but it would make me proud to have either Billy take my place in dancing with you tonight.”

I looked to Billy who simply smiled and offered me his hand. The DJ started a song, it was a slow and bittersweet song that made me tear up again. Billy held me carefully as we swayed in time to the song.

_But I loved her first and I held her first_   
_And a place in my heart will always be hers_   
_From the first breath she breathed_   
_When she first smiled at me_   
_I knew the love of a father runs deep_   
_And I prayed that she'd find you someday_   
_But it still hard to give her away_   
_I loved her first_

I was passed to Zak who kissed my cheek and wiped away my tears as the song continued. I could feel both Jay and Claire were feeling emotional, I could also see my dad crying slightly on skype. It really was a bittersweet moment.

_I knew the love of a father runs deep_   
_Someday you might know what I'm going through_   
_When a miracle smiles up at you_   
_I loved her first_

 

As the song ended a round of applause rang out. I walked over to the laptop where skype was on and blew a kiss to the webcam, I promised to phone home when I could. The sadness was quickly rectified by Aaron loudly exclaiming that the cake was here. I smiled and bid my father farewell before ending the call. 


	20. My sun and stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally finished it...  
> This feels so surreal.  
> Note: There is still an Epilogue to come (but that's been ready for the past 6 months so it doesn't count)  
> (more detailed notes at the end!)
> 
> *Bryan Adams – Everything I do*   
> *Enrique Iglesias – Hero*  
> *Thousand Foot Krutch – Look Away*

**My sun and stars**

“Zak, why on earth is our cake based off of a graveyard?” I asked jokingly as I marvelled at the three tiered cake.

“It’s Greyfriar’s cemetery.” He said proudly. “I had them design it that way…the place we became a couple.”

I smiled, it was a masterpiece of a cake; each tier was decorated as a graveyard complete with headstones and flowers. A cobblestone path ran from the bottom to the top where there was a bench which the fondant bride and groom were sat, whoever decorated this cake even got Zak’s hair perfected. I spied a small ghost figure hiding under the bench and laughed, Jay had somehow been incorporated into our cake after all.

“I don’t want to cut it…it’s so perfect.” I replied.

Zak laughed. “Well we have to sweetheart.” He picked up the cake knife and offered it to me, I waited until our photographer was in place before fitting my hand under Zak’s and cutting into the sponge cake. Zak insisted on feeding me the first piece, it was as delicious as it was pretty.

Time came for the best man speech, I think everyone was anticipating Nick to expose all the embarrassing stories from the time he’d known Zak, I was too.

“Ah, well first of all I’d just like to say that I never thought I’d see Zak marry such a beautiful girl.” He sighed, gesturing to me with a smile. “Secondly I never thought she’d be such a magnet of activity on investigations.” Laughter rippled across the room.

“I’ve known Zak a number of years, DJ-ing at my own wedding is actually how I met him. It’s been an eventful few years, we’ve travelled the world and explored some…interesting…places.” He continued. “Along the way I’ve wanted to murder him several times and I guarantee he’s wanted to do the same to me. Especially during that late night cookie vlog, you all know what I’m talking about.”

I had to stop myself laughing too much at the expression he regarded the room with.

“Either way, I see Zak as a brother and I have no doubt that him and Luna are a match made in heaven. I see traits of Zak and Luna and vice versa, it’s rather amusing at times and others…well I won’t go into that.”

More laughter amongst our friends, Aaron was recording a vlog again and trying not to die from laughing.

“Even when the lockdowns got too much for us, when we were all at each other’s throats or just drained from activity, I noticed that you both found energy and time to check on each other. It was always ‘is Zak okay?’ or ‘How’s Luna doing?’ and it was during those times that I started to think that there was something special forming between you.” He smiled, pausing for a few moments before finishing.

“I’ll just close by saying this; Zak, Luna, you are perfect for each other. I know that you’re going to enjoy the rest of your lives together, maybe loathe some parts of it but I know that come rain or shine you’re going to get through whatever life throws at you. Maybe one day you’ll be blessed with a little one, although I think Luna has had enough experience of labour after that last investigation. I wish you both the best and I’ll be here for you if you ever need me, that’s what best friends are for after all.”

He sat down as everyone applauded, Zak and I just gazed at each other for a while, it was one of those moments where the rest of the world became a blur, I smiled at him and he smiled back. We didn’t even hear the chants for the bouquet toss until Kate pounced on me from behind.

“C’mon Luna! Keep with it!” she laughed as I swatted at her. I found my bouquet and was practically dragged to the DJ decks to toss it. I rolled my eyes at the DJ who simply laughed as I threw the flowers behind me, I heard squeals and shrieks and looked around to see the mad scramble to be the first to get hold of them. One of Zak’s highschool friends was the victor in the end, I was prepared to go back to eating cake but apparently there was another formality to be dealt with.

“Hey where’s the garter toss at Zak?” another one of his highschool friends called. Zak proceeded to blush but then laugh it off within a few seconds before raising an eyebrow at me.

“So…garter toss eh?” he murmured.

“Yeah, I have one, you’re welcome to try and retrieve it.” I replied with a smirk.

A chair was dragged out onto the dance floor and I seated myself on it, Zak knelt in front of me simply studying me with his eyes. His fingers lightly stroking my knees as he continued staring at me, there were a few wolf-whistles as his hand reached under my dress. The actual removing of the garter took a few seconds but the reaction that Zak got from our guests was enough to send me into hysterics once more.

Once all the commotion had settled down the music was put back on. The champagne came out and things began to feel more like a party. I was dragged onto the dance floor several times by Annabelle and Kate before I told them that I wanted to just sit and talk to my new extended family.

It was so surreal, after so much time and so many things happening, to be finally where I want to be with the people I love around me and the people who I would come to adopt as my family.

**~***~**

The night was drawing to a close, most of our guests were getting ready to leave so Zak and I took to the floor for one last dance. It wasn’t anything extravagant but it still felt like we were the only two people in the room.

 _Oh, you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for._  
I can't help it, there's nothin' I want more.  
Yeah, I would fight for you, I'd lie for you,  
Walk the wire for you, yeah, I'd die for you.  
You know it's true:  
Everything I do, oh, I do it for you.

We twirled around the dance floor for ages, I was aware that we were being watched and it wasn’t long before Nick and Roni joined us, Aaron was begged by Annabelle to dance with her so he complied. Billy and Jay simply watched us all from the comfort of the table with Ringo and Gracie sat at their feet.

I happened to glance over to the corner of the dance floor and spot Claire and Jay slow dancing too, I couldn’t help but smile which Zak picked up on and just raised an eyebrow in response.

“Having fun?” he whispered, kissing my cheek as he held me close to him.

“Of course, this is the best day of my life.” I replied.

“Good, so…we don’t leave for our honeymoon for a week.” He sighed.

“Where are we going?” I asked, this was the first I had heard of us even going anywhere.

“…just a little plane ride away.”

“Zak…”

He smiled and shook his head. “If you really want to know then…”

I nodded and giggled. “Yes I do!”

“I’m taking you to Japan.” He declared.

I squealed and hugged him tightly, he laughed as he hugged me back. Ever since he took me to the Japanese gardens in Portland I’ve wanted to go and see Japan in all its glory, the only thing stopping me being lack of money.

“Happy about that?” he asked, as if he needed an answer.

“Yes!” I answered.

“Good.” He kissed my cheek again.                                                                        

The night ended soon after that dance, we thanked our guests for coming and said goodbye. I hugged each of the guys tightly, Kate even tighter, Annabelle was on the verge of falling asleep but she accepted a hug too before falling asleep in Roni’s arms.

Zak carried me through the doorway of our home bridal style, something he had wanted to do for a while, and into the bedroom. For a while we simply lay there together fully clothed just talking and laughing, whilst sex was probably going to occur, there was something oddly peaceful about our first night as husband and wife starting with just us being with each other.

We giggled and sighed at the tweets from the fans, they were adorable and made me feel so lucky to not only have so many friends close to me but to have so many people just being happy for Zak and I as we properly started our life together. Many of them wanted to know if we had any intention of having a baby, to which Zak hummed and ‘ah-ed’ at before kissing my neck.

I decided to make use of the time Zak spent making sure the dogs were okay before we brought our wedding night to a close by sending a tweet out;

_‘Thank you for all the wedding messages guys! We love you all so much and thank you for making this possible with all your support for us and the series! <3’_

Zak returned and shut the door to the bedroom, he delicately took my phone from my hands and put it on the dresser along with his own phone.

“Now that we can’t be distracted.” He murmured, kissing my cheek. “Do you remember that Christmas we spent together?”

“Yes I do…I remember Christmas Eve more specifically…” I replied with a small smile. “Best Christmas ever.”

“I think we can top that night…here and now…” he whispered, capturing my lips with his in a soft movement. He eased me to lie down as he got out of his suit, I watched him as he took off each layer of clothing to reveal his tattooed body beneath; the splashes of ink that decorated the tanned skin and toned muscles. The silver dogtags I gave him flashed in the dim light as they bumped against his chest, I had seen him like this so many times but the sight of him still left me breathless even now.

He returned to my side, a hand sliding under my back and finding the zipper to my dress, he slowly undid it, letting me ease myself out of it as he simply watched my body reveal itself.

“…I don’t know how I got so lucky…” he breathed as I dropped the dress off the side of the bed. “You…You’re just out of this world.”

“Oh stop Zak…” I giggled, cupping his face with my hands. “You’ve told me that so many times…”

“It’s true though.” He smiled. “…I don’t know how I’m so lucky that you love me as much as I love you.”

I kissed him, he moved to straddle me, a hand either side of my chest as he merely looked at me and then surveyed the sight of me under him. A hand closed gently around one of my breasts, his thumb ghosting over the sensitive nipple whilst he kissed my neck. I arched my back slightly at his touch and sighed. He slowly pressed against me, our underwear causing friction which made him moan slightly but he was far from losing his composure.

His lips moved to my other breast, lightly biting whilst his free hand glided down my side, skimming over my ticklish ribs and settling at my waist. I felt him press against me again as I started stroking his back with my fingers, sighing into the pillow when he stopped kissing my chest and began to make his way down my body.

I let my hands fall to my sides as he straightened up and went out of reach, I looked up at him through lidded eyes and took in the sight of him. A few moments passed of him simply stroking my stomach, a finger dipping below the waistband of my underwear and delicately easing the garment down my legs to be thrown away to join the rest of the clothing on the floor. He raised an eyebrow at me as my legs settled back on the bed, I bit my lip and gestured for him to return to me. Once he was within reach again I gently grasped the waistband of his boxers and slipped them off of him, with a little co-ordination, and kissed his cheek as I fell back on the bed.

I felt him stroke my entrance, I inhaled as he tenderly pressed a single finger into me whilst his thumb slowly rubbed against my clit. He kissed my inner thigh as his finger went deeper into me and I moaned softly. As a second and third finger joined the first I rocked myself against him, feeling my body yearn for his touch, he continued kissing my inner thighs as his fingers worked at my core, my moans becoming louder as he started to stretch his digits inside of me.

“Hmm…the question is…do we have any protection?” he whispered, pulling his fingers out before I could orgasm.

“Probably should’ve checked before we both ended up naked…” I sighed, watching him rummage around in the bedside table for a condom. He smiled as he found one and unwrapped it before rolling it on.

“Where were we?” he asked as I bit my lip and blinked rapidly.

“Mmm…you were about to…” I murmured, trailing off as he settled between my legs and pressing himself against me.

“About to what?” he continued, slipping inside of me with an agonising slowness.

“Zak…” I breathed, feeling myself tighten around him.

“Do you want me to make love to you?” he whispered, kissing my cheek and pushing further into me with the same sluggishness.

“Yes…”

He kissed me, his tongue brushing against mine, he held my waist as he started slipping into a rhythm of thrusts. I arched my back again, our chests brushing as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Our kiss broken my moans began to get the better of me, Zak chuckled through his pants and bit my neck playfully, thrusting deeper and with more force. It never took Zak very long to please me, he had a natural talent for finding the right rhythm and pace which would leave me on the edge of euphoria quickly, loudly moaning his name as my body tightened around him further still.

“…I love you.” He quickly whispered as his lips crashed down onto mine.

I hardly had time to think to reply before he slammed into me harder and faster, causing me to go completely over the edge. I arched my back and moaned as I felt myself orgasm. He slowed down his thrusts but continued until he too climaxed and fell onto the bed next to me.

A few minutes passed of us just lying next to each other, he got up and went into the bathroom for a few seconds before returning. He pulled the bed sheets out from under me and then proceeded to wrap us both up in a burrito of bed sheets.

He smiled at me and poked my nose. I laughed and poked him back, this was everything I could’ve ever wanted.

“I’m so glad I met you Luna.” He whispered. “You make my life brighter even on the darkest nights.”

“Just like a full moon?” I joked.

“Exactly, you’re the moon of my life.”

I smiled. “My sun and stars.”

“Are we really quoting _Game of Thrones_ at each other?” he laughed.

“I dunno, do you want to have a son who will mount the world?” I replied, sniggering at his widened eyes.

We ended up just laughing at each other, I snuggled closer to him and kissed his chest as he turned off the light. There were no words to describe how happy I was, I just felt so content and at one with the world in that moment. As Zak began to fall asleep I thought back to how this all began; how simply stumbling across the program on one of the late night cable channels led to an interest in the paranormal and how it led to meeting the guys and so on.

I absentmindedly stroked his chest, feeling his heart beating steadily as he slept. To think that such a small and insignificant action could lead to finding someone like him, to falling in love, to finally being happy. Whilst the future was a frightening thing to consider, I drew comfort from Nick’s words; ‘ _come rain or shine you’re going to get through whatever life throws at you_.’ I knew Zak would do anything and everything to give us a good life together and that’s all I’d ever ask of him.

Sleep beckoned me, I sighed and smiled to myself. I made a mental not to thank Kate one last time for that 16th birthday present as I began to fall asleep in the arms of the one I now called my husband.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four years worth of writing has been brought to an end right here.  
> To all of you who've read it, those who've left comments and reviews, whether you've been here since the beginning or whether you've only just stumbled across it; thank you for everything!  
> It's been a long four years and it's been touch and go sometimes, I've been at my wits end some nights trying to figure out how to continue it, I've used this fic as a way to escape reality and I never ever expected it to gain so much attention and popularity - I literally wrote it during my Italian lessons at GCSE because I was bored - so to be sat here now writing this final Author's note just seems so weird.
> 
> I just want to say a big thank-you to the following people:  
> Tiffany: this fic brought us together and after these 3 years I honestly don't know what I'd do without you! You've always been there encouraging me to keep writing, to keep trying, to follow my heart and my dreams. Even though this fic has reached it's end I know you're still going to be there for me whatever happens. I still have to get my ass to New York to see you but that'll happen eventually I promise!!
> 
> Brandon: It seems only fitting that I update this on the last day of college, you only recently read the entire series (after I nagged you for ages) and you've become one of my best friends these past few months. Even as I struggle with choices that'll affect my future you're there just keeping me sane(ish) and promising me that it'll all work itself out. I often joke that you're my Nick; keeping me grounded but also giving me a reason to laugh through my tears of frustration and I mean it when I say that you're my best friend and that I'll be here for you whenever you need me...because that's what best friends are for right?
> 
> Kate: Although the likelihood of you reading this is small you were the first one to encourage me to start writing. You read my first few chapters and told me I should publish them online, you then shared my enthusiasm when I got my first few reviews. We've drifted apart since secondary school but some part of me still hopes you'll see this and be proud of me for sticking with one of the only things I seem to do right.


	21. The Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just a short snippet I thought you'd all enjoy as an epilogue...casually leaving the series at a point where I could do a follow up part if I get enough interest.
> 
> *Taylor Swift - Everything Has Changed ft. Ed Sheeran*  
> *Brad paisley - Two people fell in love*  
> *Brad paisley – Letter to Me*

**The Epilogue**

**Nick’s P.O.V**

“Go on Jamie, blow out the candles!” Luna exclaimed, lifting her two-year-old son near a small birthday cake. The infant squirmed in his mother’s arms as he tried to blow the two candles out, I looked to our friends gathered in the kitchen of Zak and Luna’s home; Aaron who was filming on his phone, Billy with his arms folded and a wide smile in his face, the love of my life and our daughter were both encouraging Jamie. Finally I looked to Zak, his eyes full of excitement as he watched his son get enough breath to blow the candle out.

We all cheered and Zak lifted Jamie from Luna’s arms so she could cut the cake. Jamie looked a lot like his dad, mainly due to the black hair and goofy smile, he did have Luna’s eyes though and seemed to take after her slim figure too. His birth had a significant impact on the couple’s already hectic lifestyle; a little over two years after they married in Vegas we were putting together the final few episodes in the editing suite of our office when Luna just came rushing in and announced to Zak that he was going to be a father. The look on his face was priceless. And here we were; two years later Jamie was growing up fast.

“Okay so who wants cake?” Luna asked, beaming at us.

“We want cake, right buddy?” Zak immediately replied, ruffling Jamie’s hair.

“Ya!” the little one squawked, reaching for the small colourful cake. We all laughed. I put an arm around Roni as I marvelled at my best friend finally getting to know the joy that a child can bring to your life.

**~*~**

“Aw look at that…” Billy pointed at Zak who had fallen asleep on the couch with a protective arm around his sleeping son resting on his chest. It was quite an adorable sight. Annabelle had fallen asleep on Roni not long ago so the lounge was rather quiet with both children snoozing, even the dogs were led down at our feet in silence.

“Who would’ve thought that Zak Bagans, the fan heartthrob, would end up being a father?” Aaron added.

“Not me.” Luna remarked, leaning over and gently easing Jamie out from under Zak’s arm, cradling the youngster against her chest. “Then again I don’t think anyone did.”

“So have Jay and Claire met him yet? I know that you were hesitant to let them interfere at first when he was born…what about now?” I asked, watching her carefully sit down next to Billy with Jamie still sound asleep in her arms.

“They both watch over him as he sleeps, just in case…you know.” She murmured. “I think he knows that they’re both here, he can sense when they’re around.”

“And are you gonna tell him that he was named after a ghost?” Aaron chuckled.

“ _Hey, I was alive once._ ” Jay butted in. “ _I’m not just ‘some ghost’ you know._ ”

Luna smiled. “I’ll tell him he was named after a good friend who does his best to protect me…and will do his best to protect him too.”

We all nodded, I considered the possibility of Jamie growing up with Jay acting as an older brother, the idea of teenage Jamie asking Jay all the awkward questions that a growing boy needs to ask made me chuckle.

“What happens if Jay ends up giving him the sex talk?” Billy remarked, watching Luna’s face redden as she tried not to burst out laughing and risk waking her son.

“That would be entertaining.” She managed to say. “Especially if he tried to clarify whatever Jay’s told him with Zak or I.”

“ _Hey I’d give him the answers he needs…don’t need to make me sound like I’d mislead him…_ ”

“Oh come on Jay, when I found out I was pregnant you tried to tell me an incubus had impregnated me.”

Aaron and Billy sniggered, I vaguely remembered Aaron’s remark way back at the Ancient Ram Inn about that.

“ _…I was kidding…duh._ ” Jay muttered.

“Until I told Claire and she had a rather stern word with you.” Luna continued, stroking Jamie’s back as he stirred. She excused herself to go and put her son to bed properly, Billy and Aaron got ready to leave, I gave Roni the keys to our rental car so she could put Annabelle in the car ready to leave shortly.

Luna returned and insisted that we all took some of the cake home, as Billy and Aaron both left I asked if I could go and just say goodbye to Jamie before I go, seeing as I’d probably have to wait until we were either filming near Vegas or maybe even until thanksgiving when we all met up again. She nodded and told me the directions to his room.

As I leaned against the doorframe of the small bedroom I chuckled to myself. Zak and Luna were going to be great parents to Jamie, as a father myself I knew some of what they had in store for them over the next few years. I quietly moved to the small bed and crouched down next to him, he was awake still and stared at me in the dim light that the hallway light gave off.

“Hey bud, it’s your uncle Nick. I know you probably won’t understand a lot of what I’m about to say but maybe you’ll remember it in a few years.” I whispered, letting him grasp my fingers. “You have two of the most loving and caring people as your parents, I know they’re going to spoil you rotten but I also know that they’re gonna teach you so much about life…and what comes after it. You might not believe in ghosts or spirits and that’s fine, your mom and dad will understand that and they’ll love you regardless. If you do…well you’re gonna be told many stories and shown a lot of videos.” I chuckled lightly.

“Whatever happens Jamie, you’re going to have two guardians watching over you as well as your parents, one of them can be a bit of an ass but he’ll be just like a brother to you I’m sure…the other is just as wise as your mother, caring and loving too…between the two of them I’m sure you’ll grow up to be a well-rounded young man.” I went quiet for a while. “You’re gonna have a lot of pressure to live up to expectations, pay no attention to them and just be who you want to be, follow your dreams and you’ll be fine kid.”

He smiled at me, I smiled back and quietly closed the door behind me as I left, Luna stood just a few feet from me with her arms folded and a raised eyebrow.

“What?” I asked, grinning.

“I heard all that…” she replied. “You really think all that about me and Zak being good parents?”

“Yeah, I do.”

She smiled and hugged me. “Thanks Nick. For everything you’ve done.”

“Hey what are best friends for?” I sighed. “I ought to get going, tell Zak I’ll talk to him on skype next week sometime.”

“Sure.”

I nodded and let myself out of the house into the fresh evening air of September. As I got into the car with my own family I thought about Jamie’s future; would he grow up with the same fascination in the paranormal as his parents? Would he want answers to questions that leave him sleepless at night? Or will he be a skeptic until Jay does something extraordinary?

I didn’t have the answers to these questions, as a group of friends and through-and-through believers we would have to take a backseat in this part of his life and wait to see just what the future had in store for young Jamie Bagans.

 

**~FIN~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's finally at an end, the series has run it's course...well that was a fun few years!  
> Seriously though I wouldn't of gotten this far without all of your support, whether you left reviews/kudos or not, just showing an interest has given me enough drive to finish a series that I really didn't think would make it this far...so thank-you so, so much!  
> I would be more than happy to produce a follow up part, however...I would have to have a genuine demand for it as I have other projects I'm working on on top of college work so if you guys want it then I'll write it! (Please let me know somehow!)  
> Anyway, once again thanks for all your support! I hope you enjoyed reading this mammoth tale as much as I enjoyed writing it! :3  
> \- Bryn -

**Author's Note:**

> Ah college made writing such a bitch...thank god that's all over - college that is not the fic.  
> I like to think this series is a wonderful by-product of my country's stupidly stressful education system - that the fucking idiots in charge can't leave alone for more than 2 years before changing it...  
> "The students get so stressed that they write fanfictions that end up being nearly 400,000 words in length" - England.
> 
> Just to let you guys know that if you have any questions at all about anything then you can always leave me an 'ask' on tumblr (link on my profile) I will always reply - albeit a little delayed sometimes!


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